Tethered
by YoGurlWhatYoNameIs
Summary: School has finished and Lydia moves to Sydney after gaining a forensic position at the University of Technology while the rest of the pack begin their independent lives in Beacon Hills. Lydia left Stiles on great terms and once she heads back home, she's eager to be part of his life once more. After something tragic happens to Lydia, they never got that reunion the was hoping for.
1. Chapter 1

"Flight 315 to Sacramento International Airport will be boarding in fifteen minutes. Please check the notice screens for your boarding gate."

Lydia barely listened to the automated voice bellowing from the overhead speakers. She already knew said information and she was far too excited to be paying enough attention. In less than 20 hours, she'd be home with her family and friends. The anticipation conquered over the tiredness she was beginning to feel.

Reaching her boarding gate, she settled down on one of the chairs and placed her bag on the floor. Searching through it, she pulled out her tablet and swiped the screen. Her heart fluttered lightly as she studied her wallpaper. She looked into the eyes of Stiles Stilinski and herself staring back at her with bright and happy smiles. Stiles in a tuxedo, herself in an elegant green prom dress. Lydia would never forget that evening or the events that led up to it.

_"So, prom's in a couple of weeks." Stiles broke the silence he and Lydia had fallen into as they left the school and made their way to his jeep._

_"Stating the obvious a little, Stiles." Lydia raised an eyebrow as they both walked down the steps towards the parking lot._

_Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to know your plans."_

_Lydia exhaled as she thought about it. "Well, to start with I was gonna put on my sweat pants...then order some Chinese and find a film or a documentary to watch on Netflix."_

_Stiles paused and watched Lydia continue walking. "Wait, what?"_

_Lydia spun round and took at Stiles' shocked expression. "Oh, of course! How could I forget? I'll have to stock up on plenty of ice cream."_

_"You're seriously not going to prom?" Stiles frowned._

_"Nope." Lydia turned back around and continued their walk._

_"_The _Lydia Martin isn't going to the last ever prom?" Stiles caught up with her and waited for an explanation._

_"I'm not too fussed if I'm honest, Stiles. It doesn't really interest me."_

_"Are these words coming from your mouth?" Stiles blinked. "The Lydia Martin I knew a year ago would already have found the perfect dress and the heels to match, and she would be scanning through the never-ending list of boys who have asked her to go with them, picking out ones that would be the best candidate."_

_"Stiles, I don't know if you've realised, but I'm not the same girl I was a year ago." Lydia smirked as they approached the familiar rusty jeep._

_Stiles sighed as Lydia opened the passenger door. "Yes, I'm aware of that but...Lyds."_

_Lydia hopped onto the passenger seat and turned to Stiles._

_"Lydia, it's prom."_

_"Stiles, seriously. I don't want to go." Lydia muttered as she placed her bag on the back seat._

_"Why not?" Stiles frowned, leaning against the open passenger door._

_"Because...I just don't feel the same about it as I used to. Aiming to be best dressed, searching high and low for the best prom date, spending hours and hours perfecting your make-up and making sure every curl in your hair is prestige. It's so much effort just for one night of standing in a room with a bunch of people I genuinely don't speak to."_

_Stiles had no answer. He glared at the strawberry-blonde before leaning off of the door to allow her to close it. He stood there for a moment before moving around his jeep. Lydia inwardly rolled her eyes and wound down the window before the brown-eyed boy reappeared once more, resting his arms on the now open window._

_"I'm not taking that as an answer." Stiles stated._

_"And why is that?" Lydia raised an eyebrow, only half amused._

_"Because. I cannot stand the thought of you sitting at home in your far too large burgundy sweater watching a documentary you've probably seen four times with a take-out resting next to you that would probably give you a nasty stomach while the rest of us get drunk dancing to really bad chart music, creating memories that'll last a lifetime."_

_Lydia pursed her lips as she studied the boy before her. His eyes glistened with hope and he had that annoying smirk spread across his face, as if he thought he was going to win her over._

_"There won't be alcohol at prom, Stiles."_

_"There will be before hand, and at the after party."_

_"And I threw that sweater out."_

_"Because it was too big?" Stiles smirked._

_"No, because you managed to put a very large hole through the back of it while trying to sow up a much smaller, tinier hole."_

_"I was just trying to prove to you that I'm not all that useless."_

_Lydia smirked. "Get in the jeep."_

_Stiles rushed around to the other side of his jeep before opening the door and jumping in. Slamming the door, he placed his keys in the ignition and allowed it to roar to life before turning to Lydia. "We're going to prom."_

_Lydia raised her eyebrows with a playful smile on her lips. "We?"_

_"Yes." Stiles nodded before swallowing. "You're coming to prom with me."_

_"Out of all the offers I've had in my time, Stilinski, this has got to be the most romantic gesture."_

_"You're using sarcasm against the most sarcastic person in the whole of senior year." Stiles rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Lyds."_

_Lydia peered at the brown-haired boy before spinning in the seat so she was leaning against the door. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her lap. "Say I did come with you..."_

_Stiles' expression lit up like a Christmas tree._

_"Hypothetically."_

_His expression faltered and he flared his nostrils in annoyance. "Alright, hypothetically."_

_"What would be your plans for the evening?"_

_"Well..." Stiles' fingers danced on the steering wheel. "A year ago, when I had that creepy crush on you, I had planned to pick you up in a limo with the money I didn't have, get down on one knee as you opened your front door and hand you a red rose."_

_Lydia bowed her head as she attempted to hold in her laughter. Stiles saw and sent her a glare._

_"I'd take your hand and lead you to the limousine, introduce you to Enrique the driver then open the door for you like a gentleman. We'd sip on champagne and you'd be totally impressed with my charm and call me a gentleman. We'd arrive at the school and there would be a red carpet especially for you from the limo to the doors. I'd walk you up to the doors, and in the halls, Scott would be ready to throw red rose petals over us given that I pay him fifty bucks for wasting his time, then we'd enter the prom, dance to your favourite songs and by the end of the night you would have fallen in love with me and we'd live happily ever after."_

_Lydia was speechless. She wanted to burst with laughter and embarrassment._

_"You can laugh if you want."_

_She roared with laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. Stiles couldn't help but laugh with her, partly because of how embarrassing his younger self was, and mainly because he adored watching and hearing Lydia laugh. Not the small chuckle she'd sometimes let out, or the fake laugh when Kira would tell a bad joke, but the genuine laugh where her nose would crinkle and her mouth would open wide, revealing her perfectly white teeth._

_Lydia cleared her throat and looked up at Stiles, a smile still plastered on her face. "Although that sounds...romantic and wonderful and so incredibly similar to the stereo-typed teen movies, I'd love to hear what present Stiles would do."_

_Stiles scanned Lydia's bright eyes and wide smile before exhaling. "Well, I'd pick you up in my jeep."_

_Lydia raised an eyebrow._

_"Don't worry, I'll give it a good and thorough clean before hand. Then, we'd drive to school listening to a shitty CD that Scott burned for me two years ago, we'll park up and drink some of the Jack Daniels I'd have hiding in my tux, then I'll link your arm in mine and we'll enter the school. Scott will _not_ be there to throw dead petals over us..."_

_Lydia let out a giggle._

_"And you'll get to see me perform my greatest and most embarrassing dance moves, we'll take lots of pictures that you will eventually put up on your wall, and by the end of the night you'll fall in love with me and we'll live happily ever after."_

_"Stiles, seriously."_

_Stiles smirked. "At the end of the night, I'll turn to you and ask you whether you regret not staying in and watching Netflix all night long, reheating the take-out that you failed to eat all of because your eyes are bigger than your stomach."_

_Lydia grinned at her best friend. It was such a comforting feeling knowing that Stiles knew so much about her. She watched him drum lightly against the steering wheel, knowing he felt all kinds of awkward._

_"Stiles."_

_He turned to look at her._

_"I give you full permission to ask the question." She smiled at him with her head tilted._

_He was hesitant for a moment. "Is this still hypothetical?"_

_"No."_

_"Terrific. Lydia, would you go to prom with me?"_

_"Stiles Stilinski, I'd be honoured."_

Lydia studied the proud smile that Stiles was sporting in the picture. She scanned over the arm wrapped around her waist and the ridiculously wide grin she was wearing herself. When you looked at the picture of the pair of them posing in front of a sparkly and flowery display, it looked so cheesy and typical. But Lydia knew the events behind that photo, the memories she had made with Stiles and the pack, and really, in hindsight, it was typical and it was a cheesy night. But it was the most normal night they'd had in a very long time. And Lydia treasured it and the memories that came with it in her heart.

She brought up the Skype app and clicked on Stiles' name. She hit the call button and waited for him to answer. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon at Sydney airport, where Lydia currently was, so she knew Stiles would be in bed waiting for a text or a call from her to say she was boarding the plane.

Stiles answered after a few seconds, and Lydia's tablet screen flashed up with his tired-looking face.

"Evening, miss Martin."

"Afternoon, Mr Stilinski." Lydia beamed. She had Skyped, texted, called Stiles once or more a day ever since she left Beacon Hills, but every time she did, she was over the moon to hear his voice and see his face.

"Airport bound?" Stiles asked, sitting up in his bed.

"Correct. Ten minutes till I board."

"Finally, the day has come." Stiles grinned, ruffling his hair.

"You're very much incorrect-"

"I know you're getting here tomorrow, smart ass." Stiles smirked. "How was your day?"

"Apart from the rest of the packing and saying good-bye to everyone at the lab, it was a nice day."

"Are you sad?"

"A little, I'm gonna miss them all but I'm more excited to get home to you guys." Lydia smiled.

"I knew you couldn't stand to be away from me for that long." Stiles smirked.

"Shut it, Stilinski. I could say the same for you."

"Me? Nah, I've been fine. I was actually hoping you would stay out there longer..."

"If I could jump into this screen and thump you, I would." Lydia rolled her eyes.

Stiles grinned cheekily. "I have been counting down the days ever since you left, Lydia Martin. I even have a countdown on my phone."

Lydia grinned. "That's more like it."

"Man, have I missed that smile."

"We have Skyped almost every day, Stiles."

"Yeah, but it's not the same as it is in person. I mean, don't get me wrong; I've loved the selfies of you standing in front of the opera house, or the absolutely exquisite nudes I've received from you in just your lab coat-"

"Everybody in a ten feet radius can hear you, Stiles." Lydia mumbled, holding back the laughter.

Stiles' eyes widened. "Did anybody hear?"

"I don't think so. Except for the Chinese guy sitting two chairs down from me. But I'm pretty sure he doesn't speak English and he may have fallen asleep."

Stiles grinned. "I can't wait till you're here, Lyds."

"I can't wait to see you, Stiles. I really can't." Lydia mumbled. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you like crazy. We all have. Beacon Hills just isn't the same without you." Stiles pouted. "Scott and Kira wanted to throw a surprise party for you."

Lydia pulled her eyebrows together.

"Don't worry, I told them that it wasn't the greatest idea considering you'd be returning from a sixteen hour flight."

Lydia exhaled. "Thank you. Oh, that reminds me. Did Scott ask Kira?"

"To move in with him? I'll let you guess."

"Oh god, he messed it up didn't he." Lydia sighed.

"He called me up the next day in a mess of words saying he took her out to dinner and handed her a key. She asked what it was for, he said it was to his apartment. She asked why he was giving her his key, he then realised he hadn't cut another key and had to ask for it back. Kira being Kira got all confused and Scott being Scott got all tongue tied but eventually, after finishing their meal then driving over to the other side of town to get a key cut, she has successfully moved in."

Lydia laughed. "Wow. I can imagine it all perfectly."

"They're now discussing on getting a cat." Stiles raised his eyebrow.

"God, those two really are idiots in love." Lydia shook her head with a smile. She looked up from the tablet screen as a voice called out from the speakers above. Everybody near her began to gather their things and head for the boarding gate.

"Is that you?" Stiles asked.

"I believe so." Lydia looked back down at the screen. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll be at the airport waiting." Stiles smiled. "Have a safe flight, Lyds."

"Thank you. Good-bye, Stiles."

"Bye, Lydia."


	2. Chapter 2

Lydia smiled at the attendant as she showed him her passport and boarding pass before he directed her to her allocated seat. She chose the window seat and let her bag rest on the floor in between her legs. Fastening her seatbelt, she made herself comfortable before turning on her iPod and scrolling through her playlists. One stuck out like a sore thumb.

'Scott's shitty CD'

Lydia tried to hold in her grin as she placed her headphones over her head and pressed play. She closed her eyes and exhaled.

_"This one goes out to Stiles Stilinski for his impossible ten year plan to win over Lydia Martin. Get over it, dude. It's not gonna happen."_

_Lydia glared down at Stiles' radio before letting out a gasped chuckle. Stiles was quick to turn the CD off in panic._

_"So, this is Scott's shitty CD he burned two years ago." Lydia laughed, turning to a very red-faced Stiles._

_"No sarcastic comments. This _was _two years ago, Lydia."_

_"Well, I definitely want to hear about this ten year plan." Lydia smirked as Stiles turned into the parking lot of the local shopping mall._

_"It was actually extended to fifteen years, because of certain circumstances-wait, no! I'm not telling you, Lydia. It's embarrassing enough." Stiles mumbled. _

_"Well at least let me listen to the song!" Lydia whined playfully._

_Stiles grumbled to himself before putting the CD back on._

_"This one goes out to Stiles Stilinski for his impossible ten year plan to win over Lydia Martin." Scott's voice repeated from the speakers. _

_"Get over it, dude. It's not gonna happen." Lydia synchronised along with Scott's voice, sending Stiles a playful look._

_"Jesus Christ." Stiles mumbled, rubbing a hand down his face._

_Lydia waited patiently for the song to kick in, realising what it actually was a few seconds later. 'Grease - Hopelessly Devoted To You'._

_"Oh...my...god."_

_Stiles wanted to slam his head onto his steering wheel. Why did he choose Scott as his best friend?!_

_"I will never forget this moment right now." Lydia laughed, clasping her hands together as she continued to tease Stiles._

_"That's it, I'm turning it over." Stiles went to reach for the radio before Lydia moved his hand out of the way._

_"No, no! Stiles, I love this song. Grease was one of my favourite films."_

_Stiles glared at the red-head before he parked into a free space. He could not believe this was happening to him._

_"I know I'm just a fool who's willing to sit around and wait for you!" Lydia sang loudly, holding her hands to her chest. "But baby can't you see, there's nothing else for me to do!"_

_Stiles watched her slyly as she turned to him and placed her fingers underneath his chin._

_"I'm hopelessly devoted to you!"_

_Stiles pulled his head away, unable to hold in the chuckle rumbling inside. He watched Lydia laugh and sing the lyrics, looking at Stiles lovingly._

_"Can we please turn this off and go find you a god damn prom dress now?" Stiles asked._

_"Of course." Lydia smiled. "But we are most definitely listening to the rest of it on the way home."_

"Would you like a drink, miss?" A muffled voice snapped Lydia out of her daydream. She turned her head and studied the flight attendant before removing her headphones.

"Yes, thank you. A coffee would be great."

"Do you take sugars?"

"Two, please." Lydia replied, looking back down at the iPod in her lap.

"Sorry, miss. I'm gonna have to ask you to switch that off while we take off." The attendant pointed out politely.

"Oh, sorry! Of course." Lydia replied quickly, switching the device off and placing it in her bag. She found her phone and was about to do the same before noticing a text from Stiles. She unlocked her phone and opened the message.

I will be waiting at the departure gate tomorrow with the biggest smile. If you can't find me, look out for the dorky guy wearing an 'I heart Martin' t-shirt.

Lydia grinned so wide she thought her jaw would break. How did she manage to bag a guy like Stiles Stilinski? Why did she waste so many years?

Lydia switched her phone and tablet off before paying for her coffee and thanking the attendant. The heat from the coffee cup warmed her hands as she looked out of the plane window, the Australian sun shining bright in the sky. Sure, Australia was incredible and unforgettable. But what could be better than the most important person in your life greeting you at the airport for the first time in eight months?

..

Lydia awoke to the plane jolting and the remaining of her coffee falling from the tray in front and onto her lap. She gasped, freezing on the spot as she looked down at her now stained jeans.

"You've got to be kidding me."

An attendant walked by and noticed the situation before apologising profusely. "I'm so sorry, I'll grab some napkins."

Lydia fidgeted in her seat as the now cold liquid began to seep through the denim material. It was lucky she packed a spare outfit in her carry-on bag.

The attendant returned, handing Lydia some napkins. "I apologise again, we're heading into a storm and we're experiencing some strong turbulence at the moment."

"You don't have to apologise, these things happen." Lydia chuckled politely, using the napkins to wipe up any spillage on her seat. "Is it okay to change in the toilet?"

"Yes, the turbulence has died down. You're more than welcome."

"Thank you." Lydia smiled before the attendant left. She unbuckled her seat beat and stood up with her bag before heading to the toilet. She waited patiently for a passenger to finish before locking herself in the small space. Checking the damage in the mirror, she exhaled. Her new jeans.

Placing her bag on the side, she brought out a pair of black leggings just as the plane jolted sidewards. Quickly placing a hand on the wall to steady herself, Lydia pushed her hair out of her face as someone knocked on the door.

"One second." Lydia called out.

"Sorry, miss. We're gonna have to ask you to take a seat." An attendant called through the door.

Lydia muttered to herself before shoving the leggings back in her back. She quickly opened the door and recognised the attendant. "I'm sorry, I'll be thirty seconds tops."

"I don't want to alarm you, but we're currently in the eye of a very bad storm and we need you to sit down and put your seatbelt on-"

The plane jolted again, sending the attendant sideways and onto the floor.

"Oh my god." Lydia gasped, clinging onto the door frame of the toilet before rushing to the attendant's aid. She didn't have a chance to help her up.

The plane dropped extremely low and Lydia felt her stomach lurch. She gripped onto the door once more and looked down the isle between the chairs. People were visibly panicking, their heads twisting and turning with worry and questions. The plane shuddered and rattled, sending vibrations through Lydia's body.

The attendant managed to scrambled to her feet and glare at Lydia with worry.

"Are you alright?" Lydia asked louder than usual. She realised that a lot of people were now screaming.

"Yes, we need to get you seated!" The attendant called out before a horrible, daggering sound rumbled throughout the plane. The plane shot to the side, sending Lydia back into the toilet. She fell backwards, hitting the back of her head on the toilet seat.

"Shit." Lydia hissed, her eyes shut tight as the pain sparked through her skull. She used one hand to perch herself up just as - what looked like the co pilot - rushed out of the cockpit.

"The right wing has been struck by lightning." He whispered loudly to the attendant who was now on her knees, gripping hold of the toilet door.

Lydia's stomach dropped. Did she just hear that correctly? "What?"

The co-pilot spun his head towards the strawberry-blonde before rushing to help her up. "Don't panic, it happens much more frequently than you can imagine."

"Yes, but the journey isn't exactly going smoothly, is it." Lydia bit back as he helped her sit up. "Get back in there and help the poor guy fly this plane out of the storm."

The co-polite blinked at the bossy banshee before disappearing out of the toilet. Lydia felt bad, he only looked young. But she was panicking now. She wanted to get home in one piece.

As Lydia leaned against the toilet wall and checked the back of her head for bleeding, the plane began to drop. And it wasn't stopping.

The walls were shuddering against her back and the screams were becoming louder. She looked up at the toilet light as it started flashing. The plane was still dropping. Her insides felt as if they were being pushed upwards and the blood pounded in her skull.

The attendant who still remained on the floor, turned to look at Lydia. Lydia looked back as the plane shook violently. Then, the same daggering sound whipped through the plane, lighting up the sky. Lydia looked through the window ahead of her, and for a split second everything was lit up, she could see just how bad the storm was. Torrential rain, heavy black clouds. The wind looked so powerful Lydia felt as if she could hear it through the walls.

The plane stopped falling for just a few seconds before it continued to free fall. Lydia felt like vomiting, her cheeks were hot and her head felt cold. What were they falling into? They didn't know what was below, you couldn't see a thing out of those windows.

Lydia could feel the air changing, and that only meant one thing. They were dropping too quickly and they were falling far too close to the ground. The banshee wanted to start crying there and then.

_Lift the plane back up_, she prayed desperately to herself. _Lift the plane back-_

She was sent spiralling out of control, not sure of which direction she was heading to. Her arm slammed against something that caused her to yelp out in pain. Were they upside down?

"Oh my god." Lydia cried out as she realised just how scary of a situation this was.

She could smell burning and the screams from outside the toilet sounded distant and cut off. She clung onto the side of the sink as the plane continued to spiral. The toilet door was repeatedly closing and opening and the attendant was gone. A high pitched sound pierced through the air and it was only then did Lydia feel the need to release a heart-wrenching banshee scream.

"No!" Lydia shrieked, but she couldn't hear the sound of her own voice. The noises around her were too loud, too empowering for her tiny voice to be heard.

She was going to die. The scream sitting at the back of her throat confirmed it, the situation around her confirmed it. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst through her ribs.

_Stiles._

The tears spilled over her lashes and she cried into her shoulder. She'd never get to see him again. Never get to hear his contagious laugh or feel his arms around her waist or the touch of his lips. She'd never get to watch him grow up with her on his side. She'd never get to tell him that she was completely and hopelessly in love with him.

"No, no, no!" She screeched in desperation, slamming her hand against the toilet wall in anger. "This can't be happening!"

Something knocked against the side of the plane and sent it tumbling into the unknown once more. The lights around her were flashing like warning signs and she decided she was not going to die next to a toilet.

Using all the strength in her arms, Lydia pulled herself up and grabbed her bag. Keeping in the scream was becoming more and more painful by the second, but she swallowed her dry mouth and let it sit at the back of her throat. She rummaged blindly for her phone just as the sound of windows breaking came from the isle. Wind piled through the plane and into the toilet, whipping Lydia's long strawberry locks in every direction. Her eyes began to water from the rapid wind, but she'd found her phone and she stared at it impatiently, waiting for it to switch on.

"Come on!" She screamed.

She had her bag zipped up and over her shoulder. Lydia didn't know what she was doing but she grabbed hold of the doorway of the toilet and pulled herself out. Her clothes were whipping against her skin like knives and her ears felt as if they were going to explode. When she turned to her right, she did not expect to see such a heartbreaking scene.

Half the plane was gone, along with the passengers. Lydia's heart was in her mouth.

"Oh my god."

Her eyes were glued onto the side of the plane where the gaping hole that had ripped everything and everyone out of the plane was. Wires and sparks were everywhere Lydia looked and the oxygen masks were attacking the air. Then Lydia saw the sea.

They were getting closer and closer to the sea and she was going to die. She looked down at her now switched on phone and hurriedly searched for Stiles' name on her recent calls. She pressed the call button and brought the phone up to her ear while clinging onto the toilet doorway.

_Please, please, please._

The call failed.

Lydia's legs buckled with frustration and sadness and the tears poured down her face. She almost slipped and let the scream free. She just wanted to hear his voice for the last time. She didn't want screams and explosions to be the last thing she'd hear. She wanted Stiles' voice.

The sound of two gunshots split through the air, but no where near as loud as the sound of the plane going down. Lydia turned to the cockpit which was still standing, and knew straight away that the pilot and co-pilot had just taken their own lives. She knew it; the scream was getting stronger and more powerful. Wiping her face quickly, Lydia looked up at the sky through the torn roof of the plane. She was the only survivor on this plane and she didn't want to die alone. She didn't want to drown. And she most certainly did not want to be engulfed with flames.

Pulling herself back up with one of the remaining seats left, she peered out of the hole at the end of the plane through the curls whipping her face. It was now or never. The sea was getting closer and the impact was going to hurt like a bitch.

Quickly unzipping her bag, she chucked her phone inside and resealed it. She was thinking too faithfully, but if she tried to keep her bag dry, she'd have a chance to call for help. Lydia pushed herself forward and ran.

The wind and the gravity slowed her down but she ran as fast as her legs could take. She used the remaining seats to push her along, her teeth gritted and her heart thumping against her chest. The sea was so close, in a few more seconds the plane would have hit the surface. Lydia let out a yell of desperation as her legs ached and her throat strained to hold the scream in. She ran and ran, her eyes on the end of the plane and the closer she got the more frightened she became. But she continued on, the edge getting closer and closer and she could see the choppy waves below.

Taking in one large gulp of air, Lydia placed her bag over her head, reached the broken edge and jumped.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Please tell me this is the dress you want."_

Wake up.

_"Stiles, who's idea was it to come dress shopping?" Lydia called out from her changing cubicle._

_Stiles' head hung low. "Mine."_

Wake up, Lydia! Kick your legs!

_Lydia zipped up the dress then checked herself out in the mirror. "Wow."_

_"Is that the dress? Is it the one?" Stiles sat up straight with anticipation and hope._

_Lydia stroked the silk material of the dress. She smiled. "This is the one."_

That's it, keep kicking.

_"Oh thank god." Stiles exhaled, wiping his face. "Come out and show me, then."_

_"You shouldn't see my dress before prom, Stiles."_

_Stiles grinned. "I'm pretty sure that only applies for weddings, Lyds."_

_Lydia looked down at her dress and smiled. Pushing up her curly hair, she turned around and opened the red curtain, her eyes falling onto Stiles' shocked expression._

_He was lost for words. How could someone look this beautiful? How was it possible for a human to look this...incredible? Stiles decided then and there that Lydia was definitely an angel._

_Lydia watched Stiles with a smirk as he tried to conjure up a sentence._

_"Uh..." He muttered, his eyes falling down to Lydia's curves and her pale, soft skin. "You look lovely. No, not lovely. You look beautiful, amazing, hot. Not hot as in _hot-_I'm not saying you don't look hot..."_

_Lydia looked down and chuckled as Stiles took a deep breath._

Don't breathe in. Just kick. You're almost there.

_"What I'm trying to say is, Lydia..." Stiles began. "You look like an angel."_

You're so close, don't give up. Keep kicking, Lydia.

_"Really?" Lydia smiled, her heart racing._

_"Really." Stiles nodded. "Out of this world."_

Lydia gasped desperately for air as she broke through the surface of the water, her arms flailing about as she tried to think clearly. She was alive. Gaining control of her breathing, she wiped her eyes and looked around as the rain continued to poor down. Nothing but black sea and dark sky. Twisting and turning, her legs kicked to keep her above the water as her eyes fell onto her bag floating along the water's surface. Lydia gasped with happiness. Considering the circumstances, she was very lucky.

Lydia grabbed hold of her bag and rested it upon her shoulder as she looked around once more, her vision a lot clearer. There was no sign of the plane, or anything else for that matter. She squinted into the distance, the darkness of the storm making it far too hard to see anything. But then her eyes fell on land. An island ahead. Lydia's heart flipped.

She began to kick, making sure her bag was above the water at all times. The horrible weather and the choppy sea was making it hard for her to go anywhere, but she kept kicking and using her arms to push her along. She needed to make it. She survived a god damn plane crash, she needed to survive this.

She kicked and kicked as her arms and legs screamed at her to stop, but she was getting closer. She couldn't give up. She told herself that she could collapse and cry once she was ashore, but right now she needed to hold it together and keep going.

What felt like hours passed but she finally felt the sand beneath her feet and she stood up, wading through the shallow water to reach the land. The closer it got, the more she wanted to fall down and sob. The water began to fall to her ankles and she finally made it, her legs buckling and her knees falling onto the sand. She chucked her bag forward before collapsing all together.

Gasping for air, trying to let everything sink in; it was too much. The rain was still falling down heavy and she began to worry about her bag and the contents inside. Pulling herself up, she grabbed her bag and ran along the damp the sand towards the exotic trees ahead. She made cover under a large banana tree and leaned against it, looking out to sea. All she begged for was for everyone to have survived, swimming towards her. But nothing. Nothing was there and that's when she burst out crying.

She sobbed for hours on end, cried and cried until she couldn't cry no more. How could this have happened? There were children, innocent lives on that plane and they were all gone. How was that fair? Some were going home to see their family and friends, just like she was. But they couldn't do that any more, and their family and friends would be waiting, waiting patiently for them to return. Lydia closed her eyes. Was she going to make it home? Would she get to see her family and friends again, Stiles? Of course she would. Rescue helicopters and boats would be here soon, she just had to pull it together and wait patiently.

Wiping her eyes, she unzipped her bag to check on everything. Her change of clothes were a little damp, but her electronic devices were okay. She decided to leave them until tomorrow. Authorities would have rescued her by then, and if they hadn't, she could find a way to contact someone tomorrow, or better. Behind her could be a town, a city for all she knew. She would look tomorrow.

She removed her soaked clothes and changed into her drier ones before settling down. She rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Lydia thought it would be hard to sleep, too much had happened. But she was so exhausted, so traumatized that she fell into a deep, nightmare-infested sleep.

..

Lydia woke up to the sound of the sea crashing ahead of her. She was confused. Blinking, she opened her eyes and turned her head. The sea was calm and the sun was setting. Her eyes stayed on the sea ahead and spotting a piece of debris from the-

Plane crash. Lydia's stomach dropped and she closed her eyes. She wished it were a nightmare. Wiping her eyes, she pushed her almost dry hair back and sat up. She was glad the storm had stopped, but it was evening now and nobody had seemed to have arrived yet. Lydia didn't panic, she knew how these things worked. They had probably only realised that the plane was missing and they were unable to track it. They'd be here soon.

Lydia checked the time on her phone; 7.32PM. Turning her phone back off, she stuffed her now dry clothes into her bag as well as her phone and stood up. Stretching her arms and legs, she turned to the trees behind her and began to make her way through. There must something on this island that could help her. By the perimeter of the island when she was swimming towards it, it wasn't large. And as she mentally named all of the islands in the North and South Pacific ocean, she couldn't put her finger on this one. They were around four hours into the flight when they crashed, so that must have meant they were just heading over the North Pacific.

As Lydia was calculating and analysing in her head, she hadn't realised that she'd passed the wall of trees and was now staring straight at dried out land. No signs of anything except dead trees and the occasional bird. Lydia swallowed, her throat salty and dry. She was starting to panic.

She continued to walk through the dry land and the hot sun beating down on her until she reached another large formation of trees. She needed some shade. Walking through, she sat down against a trunk and took a few breaths. She had to find some water. The sun was hot enough at sunset, she couldn't imagine what it would be like at its highest point.

As Lydia leaned against the trunk, her ears caught hold of the sound of a helicopter in the distance. In a second she was up, listening intently as her heart jumped. She couldn't hear nothing at first, but then the sound came back. It was definitely a helicopter. Almost screaming for joy, Lydia grabbed her bag and began to run out of the trees and across the dry land, her heard thudding against her chest. She couldn't tell which direction the helicopter was coming from and as much as she tried to look up while running, she couldn't locate it either. The sound was becoming distant and the panic began to rise within her. She couldn't miss it.

"Wait!" She screamed into the air, straining her neck to look up towards the sun. Her eyes fell on the helicopter hovering over the sea and as she was about to shriek for joy, she heard the sound of a branch breaking and a bone snapping, she was on the floor in a heap.

She became numb for a moment as she looked down at her ankle, then it sank in. There her bone was, sticking out the side of her ankle with blood pouring onto the dry ground. Lydia felt vomit rise up her throat and her cheeks became red and hot. The pain began, and she screamed so loud she wished the helicopters had heard. Looking up to the sky, her eyes fell on the helicopter once more but it was becoming smaller and smaller.

Lydia shook her head rapidly as the tears of desperation and disappointment fell down her cheeks.

"No, no, no! Wait, please!"

She watched in shock and disbelief as the helicopter disappeared into the distance, leaving her lying on the hard hot floor with a bloody, broken ankle.


	4. Chapter 4

There was so much noise around him. The sound of people talking, suitcases rolling across the plastic floor, the screens scattered and the speakers above them letting out noises and automated words. But Stiles wasn't paying attention.

He stood proudly, with a smile on his face and a large bouquet of white roses in his hand, staring straight at the departure gate. He imagined the feeling of when he'd see her walk out, tired and jet-lagged but all the while still beautiful. Her face when she'd see him, and the feel of her wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. He couldn't wait another minute.

Checking his phone, her plane should be landing in a few minutes. She'd had to wait for her luggage, go through security and then she'd walk through the passage in front of him. He couldn't stand still.

His eyes were so set on the departure gate and his head was so deep in day-dream that he hadn't noticed the heads around him turning to face the screens scattered around. He was smiling to himself, thinking back to the time when Lydia left Beacon Hills.

_"Okay, everyone. Settle down, settle down." The voice of Mrs McCall captured everyone's attention and one by one, everyone around the table let their eyes fall on her. She stood at the end, a glass in her hand, smiling towards the strawberry-blonde sitting next to Stiles._

_"Lydia Martin. One of the most outgoing and caring individuals I've ever met. And I have Scott as my son."_

_Everyone let out a chuckle and looked towards Scott. Lydia smirked across the table at the were-wolf, watching him roll his eyes. _

_"I can't believe you're leaving Beacon Hills for eight months. I'm going to dearly miss the evenings that you'd sneak into the hospital and ask me whether you could observe while I dealt with patients. You're always happy and eager to learn, even though you're the smartest teenager in this town. And when I say this, I know that everybody in this room will agree with me. Beacon Hills will _not _be the same without you, Lydia Martin."_

_Lydia beamed up at Scott's wonderful mother, telling herself over and over that she shouldn't cry. Everyone raised their glasses in the air, and Lydia looked at her mother next to her. She smiled down at her daughter with her glass raised high._

_"To Lydia." Melissa grinned._

_"To Lydia." Everyone repeated, tapping their glasses together. Stiles lightly nudged Lydia will his elbow as he held his glass out. She turned to look at him and smiled with sparkling eyes before they connected their glasses._

_"So, now we've toasted and all have full bellies, how about we stick on some music and get this party started?" Sheriff Stilinski declared before helping Melissa with the plates. Everyone cheered in unison and they all began to clear the table._

_Stiles headed into the kitchen, joining Scott, Kira and Malia as they poured themselves a drink. "Are you two drinking alcohol?"_

_Scott and Malia sent each other a look before turning to Stiles. Scott raised an eyebrow. "It's alcohol-free."_

_"We didn't want to seem suspicious to the people who didn't know about us." Malia explained._

_"Smart thinking, guys." Stiles nodded at the were-wolf and the were-coyote._

_"You think Lydia's enjoying herself?" Kira asked the group as Derek and Braedon joined them. "You think this is the send off she wanted?"_

_Stiles looked into the living room, his eyes falling onto Lydia hugging her mother. She was smiling and her face was glowing. "Yeah, I think she has. She's got everybody she loves and cares about in one room."_

_The group looked around; Stiles was right. The pack was there, Scott's mother and father were there, Parrish and the sheriff were there. You could see from the look of Lydia's face that she was more than happy. It was rare for everyone to be in the same room for the evening._

_Stiles left Scott and the pack before heading over to Lydia and Mrs Martin. He cleared his throat as they separated and their eyes fell on him. He smiled at the mother and daughter. "Mrs Martin, do you mind if I steal your daughter for five minutes?"_

_Lydia raised an eyebrow and Natalie smirked._

_"I-I, er...to talk. Just to talk." Stiles rushed, feeling his face turn red._

_Natalie chuckled before squeezing Lydia's hand. "Of course, Stiles."_

_"Thanks." Stiles nodded as Mrs Martin left the two of them alone. Stiles looked at Lydia and smiled, she reciprocated. "You wanna...go outside for a second?"_

_Lydia nodded. "Yeah."_

_Stiles headed to Lydia's back doors and opened them, revealing the Martin's humongous back yard. She walked down the steps with him and they headed towards the pool._

_"You're not planning on drowning me, are you, Stiles?" Lydia smirked as they sat down next to the blue water._

_Stiles chuckled and rolled his eyes. "No...I just, wanted to tell you something."_

_Lydia cocked her head. "What is it?"_

Stiles' mind was pulled away from his flashback, the sound of people gasping and panicking. He frowned, bringing himself to focus on his surroundings. Everyone was clearly in shock, some in tears as their eyes peered up to the screens around. Stiles turned his body to find a screen close to him before he began to read what it said.

We are devastated to announce that flight 315 from Sydney Airport has crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

There are no survivors.

The flowers in Stiles' hand fell to the ground.

His entire body was frozen, everything fell into slow motion. Nothing was registering.

Crashed into the ocean. _No survivors._

Stiles gasped, bringing his hands to his mouth as his eyes began to water. The shock surged through him like ice.

Lydia was dead.

"No." He choked out, hands shaking, twisting and turning for any sign of this to be untrue. Were his nightmares starting again?

_Count your fingers._

Stiles brought his hands down and counted. _One, two, three, four, five._

He let out a stifled cry before his legs began to shake.

Lydia Martin was dead. His Lydia was _dead. _His heart felt like it had smashed into a million pieces.

The ache in his heart, the pain, it caused him to fall to his knees. Pulling at his hair, he wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"It's not real, it's not real..."

His entire body was shaking and the tears were effortlessly falling down his face. "Not _my_ Lydia, anyone but _my _Lydia!"

"Sir?" A voice of authority spoke to him, but Stiles couldn't hear. He didn't want to hear anything or anyone speaking to him unless they were confirming that Lydia was alive. "Sir, we're here to help you."

"She's alive, Lydia is alive. She isn't dead." Stiles shook his head, his hands still holding tight to the brown locks of hair.

"Sir, we're going to help you. Can we take your name?"

"You tell me she's alive, right now!" Stiles spun around and grabbed the man in a dark suit by the collar. "You tell me _right_ now!"

"Sir, you need to remain calm at this moment in time." The man replied, ushering away the authority that was about to pin Stiles down. "We just want to help you. We want to talk you through what happened."

Stiles was violently shaking at this point. His fingers began to let go of the material before looking around him. He turned back to the man - he looked a lot like a detective. "_How?"_

The detective fixed his shirt and looked at Stiles was pity.

"How did this happen?" Stiles frowned, the tears blinding him. "This wasn't supposed to happen to her. Not Lydia. Not my Lydia. She is too smart for this, she deserves a bright and long future. She deserves a _future_. She can't die. I can't live my life without her."

The detective looked down to the ground before standing up, gesturing for the cops around him to back off.

Stiles stared into nothing, shock and heartbreak slicing through every part of him. His breathing faltered and he felt dizzy. "We were supposed to grow old together."

The detective watched the poor boy brake into pieces in front of him. Stiles was losing his mind, and his breath. He started to panic. "Oh god." He looked around him, sitting down on the ground to gain balance. He was seeing stars and he was struggling to breathe. "Oh _god."_

The detective sensed the change of behaviour and knelt down beside the boy. "Son, are you alright?"

Stiles lifted his head up and peered into the eyes of the man in front of him. "I'm having a panic attack."

The detective stood up and turned to his men. "Seek medical assistance now. We're gonna take him out back with the rest of them." He watched a few of his team head off before he turned around and focused on Stiles. "Son, you've gotta give me something. What stops your panic attacks?"

Stiles cried and shook, his eyesight faltering and the blood in his head pumping.

"L-Lydia. Lydia. I need Lydia."


	5. Chapter 5

Lydia's eyes drifted open, the darkness around her immediately making her feel cold. She blinked a few times before attempting to sit up. A piercing pain shot through her leg and then she remembered her injury. Whimpering, she looked down at the damage.

Squinting through the darkness, she noticed a lot of blood on the floor. She let her head hang low as she thought about what she was going to do next. She could sit here, bleed out and give up. Or she could get the hell up and head back to the beach where she had more of a chance of being rescued. She wanted to just let go, not care about surviving. But that's not what Lydia Martin would do. She was a fighter, Stiles had told her so before. And Lydia knew that if Stiles was here, he'd be helping her up, telling her to stay strong and to keep going.

Lydia blinked back the tears before rummaging for her bag in the dark. Hunting for her damp t-shirt she removed earlier on in the evening, she sat up with her broken ankle stretched out. The pain was excruciating, but she was smart enough to know what she doing and if she wanted her leg to heal, she had to suck it up and act on it.

A year ago, Lydia wouldn't have dreamt of ripping up her fifty dollar shirt, but right in this moment she couldn't care less. She ripped it into long strips and used one to wrap around her wound to stop it from bleeding any further. She felt faint enough as it was, she didn't want to lose any more blood.

She didn't know how she done it, but Lydia hopped back towards the beach, sometimes accidentally leaning on her ankle which caused her to scream out in pain. She moved through the wall of trees before the sound of the waves crashing onto shore entered her hearing. She needed the wound clean. Stumbling across the sand, she almost collapsed into the water but held herself up, slowly sitting down on the sand before dipping her swollen ankle into the salty sea.

It stung a lot more than she had hoped. She yelled out as the salt done its trick, her vision fading as the pain increased. Leaving her foot in the water for another ten minutes, she checked to see if it was still bleeding. It had died down, so she crawled back up towards the banana tree she last took cover under and elevated her ankle on top of a rock.

Lydia couldn't believe her luck. Up and down like a yo-yo. involved in a plane crash, but she survived, managed to miss maybe the only opportunity of being rescued and broke her ankle, all because of a stupid little branch and some uneven ground. The banshee was beyond angry at herself.

She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and glared at her damaged and soaking ankle. She had to try and keep herself calm in this situation. She was on her own, no one to help her but herself. Out of all the things, she couldn't be _angry _at herself.

Lydia closed her eyes and thought back to a time that made her the most happiest. Her mind immediately flashed to Stiles.

_Stiles rushed round to the passenger door of his jeep and opened it with a nervous smile. Lydia smiled back before taking his hand as he helped her out. Her heels met the ground and she looked up at the decorated front entrance of the school. Her heart raced._

_Lydia was excited. She couldn't deny it; Stiles had definitely proved her wrong. The last thing she wanted to do was go home and watch Netflix on her laptop. The Jack Daniels that her and Stiles had downed a moment ago was still fresh on her tongue and burning the back of her throat, but it felt nice. And what was a party without a little bit of alcohol?_

_"Ready?" Stiles smiled, holding out his arm after closing the door after Lydia. Lydia smirked before quickly doing a once over of Stiles' suit. He scrubbed up extremely well. His tie matched Lydia's dark green dress and he was wearing shiny formal shoes for once. Lydia was pretty sure he borrowed them off of his father._

_"Without a doubt." Lydia nodded, linking arms with the brown-eyed boy in front of her. They began to walk towards the steps before Stiles stopped and unlinked his arm. _

_"Shit, Lydia. I'm sorry."_

_Lydia turned around with a confused frown on her face. "What?"_

_"I forget to tell you when I picked you up..." Stiles shook his head as he mentally scolded himself. "You look absolutely beautiful."_

_Lydia's eyes widened a little before she blushed, looking down at her black heels. She tucked a straw-berry blonde lock behind her ear before looking back up at Stiles shyly._

_Stiles meant every word. She looked like god's gift. Her dress fitted her perfectly, hugging her body in all the right places. She'd left her make-up minimal which Stiles adored; she'd been doing it a lot lately and it showed her true beauty. Her hair was pinned in a wavy up-do, a few loose curls falling down her back. And it had been a while since Stiles saw Lydia in heels. He forgot how long and slender it made her legs look. He couldn't of been more honoured to going with her to prom._

_"Thank you, Stiles." Lydia smiled. "You look amazing, too. That suit makes you look like a mysterious and sexy billionaire."_

_Stiles blinked. "Y-you kidding? That was totally the look I was going for!"_

_Lydia laughed before reaching out to take his hand. Stiles' heart thumped as he laced his fingers through hers and lead her up the stairs and into the school._

_As soon as they stepped in they could tell it was going to be one heck of a night. The music echoed loudly from the gym hall and the lockers either side of them were decorated with lights and stars. Everyone was piling in and out of the gym, laughs filling the atmosphere. Stiles squeezed Lydia's hand as they approached the doors, eager to join in with everyone's celebrations._

_They walked through, immediately thrown with how different it looked. They had been to previous proms, but this one was so much more greater, it felt more final. Sparkly lights were covering the ceiling and the walls as well as a large disco ball hanging from above, dazzling the room with sparkles and shimmers. White curtains fell down around them and the darkness added to the mood. The dance-floor was filled with students, some they recognised. A large, long table decorated with a white cloth stretched along the back of the hall was filled to the top with snacks, sweets, cakes, a chocolate fountain and a punch fountain - which was most probably alcohol free. One part of the bleachers had been kept out for people to sit on, and next to it was a large photo-booth. There was a beautiful stand at the side of the room with lights and flowers hanging from it, a photographer and a banner above saying "Prom of 2015". Reading that made Lydia and Stiles heart fall a little with sadness, knowing that after this night school would be over forever._

_But neither one of them regretted anything. Even the were-wolves and the kanimas and the god-damn nogitsunes couldn't affect that. Everything happened for a reason, and if it wasn't for every fight, every tear, every supernatural creature, Lydia would have never became friends with Stiles, Stiles would never have gotten to know Lydia for who she really is, Scott and Allison wouldn't have fallen in love, and the pack wouldn't exist. It had been hell, this past year, but Stiles and Lydia wouldn't want anything different._

_"Lets go drink lots of non-alcoholic punch and see if we can find Scott and the others." Stiles leaned to Lydia's ear, trying his best to be heard over the music. He held Lydia's hand firmly as they waved through the crowd of students laughing and yelling until they reached the chocolate and punch fountains. Lydia's eyes widened at the chocolate display in front of her before grabbing two marshmallows on sticks._

_"This is where the party starts." Lydia winked at Stiles as she handed him a stick before they both smothered the soft chewy sweet in chocolate. Stiles turned to Lydia and smirked at her, holding out his coated marshmallow._

_"To prom."_

_Lydia chuckled and rolled her eyes. "To prom."_

_They both nudged their sweets together before indulging them into their mouths, the taste of the marshmallow and the hot chocolate melting together. Lydia studied Stiles as she swallowed. She saw the mess Stiles had made around his mouth before laughing._

_"Seriously, Stiles. How can you possibly miss that big mouth of yours?" Lydia laughed before wiping her thumb along the bottom of his lip, removing the melted chocolate. Stiles froze as he watched Lydia bring her thump to her mouth, sucking off the contents that was once on his face. She was killing him._

_A loud, recognisable cheered bellowed over the music and before the two could react, Scott had hugged Stiles from behind. "Guys, you're here!"_

_Lydia grinned as Stiles turned around and responded to the hug before she noticed Kira run past them and towards her. "Kira!"_

_"Lydia! You look drop dead gorgeous!" Kira squealed as she held onto Lydia's arms. "I could kill you."_

_"You can't say that, did you look in the mirror before you left?!" Lydia was wide-eyed while scanning the kitsune. "You look incredible!"_

_"Second to that." Scott appeared behind Kira, kissing her on the cheek. Lydia smiled at the pair of them. "You girls want a drink?"_

_"Please." Lydia smiled as Stiles and Scott headed over to the punch._

_"So, you decided to come." Kira raised an eyebrow, a playful look on her face. "I thought you weren't bothering this year?" _

_"Well, I wasn't to start with. But something..." Lydia hesitated._

_"Or _someone_...?" Kira smirked._

_Lydia held Kira's gaze before giving in. "Stiles changed my mind."_

_"I knew he would." Kira grinned. "Out of anyone, you'd listen to him."_

_Lydia looked at the kitsune knowingly. "Kira..."_

_"Hey, I'm not saying anything. You all know how we feel about you and Stiles, even Malia wants you two to get together already."_

_Lydia exhaled. "Kira, I've told you before. It's...me and Stiles. It's a complicated topic."_

_"What's so complicated?!"_

_"I genuinely don't know." Lydia shrugged, looking over Kira's shoulder to watch Scott and Stiles whispering amongst themselves. "We've gotten so close over this past year. We're best friends, and the last thing I'd want is for that friendship to be ruined. I can't lose him."_

_"I totally understand." Kira nodded. "But...you're going away for eight months next week. Are you sure you want to leave it at "just friends"?"_

_Lydia pulled in her lip as the boys returned._

_"Drinks for the ladies." Stiles smiled, handing Lydia and Kira a cup of punch. "And there's definitely no alcohol in it; I checked. But there's definitely alcohol in my pocket, so me and Lydia can get turned up."_

_Scott raised an eyebrow and Kira giggled before looking to the ground._

_Stiles sent them a grin. "Sorry, guys. But if you two can't get drunk, then we can."_

_Lydia turned to Stiles with a smirk. "Wipe the clever grin off of your face, Stilinski. Were-wolves and were-coyotes cannot get drunk. But kitsunes on the other hand..."_

_"You can get drunk, Kira?!" Stiles frowned at Scott's girlfriend as Lydia snaked a hand through Stiles' tux and pulled out of the bottle of Jack Daniels. "Woah, Lydia. What are you doing?!"_

_"Calm down, Stiles. No one's going to see us." Lydia rolled her eyes as she quickly poured some of the whisky into his and Kira's cups. "And I'm pretty sure that Coach is standing on the bleachers inhaling a bottle of vodka for everyone to see."_

_Scott turned around and frowned at their Economics teacher. "Bobby, come on..."_

_"Lydia, I cannot get as drunk as I did at the sleepover at yours, I had the worst hangover and did not remember a thing-"_

_"Don't worry, Kira. I'll be sure your night is not ruined." Lydia reassured the kitsune before Malia appeared from the dancefloor with a wide grin._

_"Malia! Where have you been?" Kira greeted the were-coyote with a grin._

_"Some dude from the lacrosse team asked me to prom earlier, so I totally went to a pre-party with him and his college friends earlier." Malia laughed with excitement. They were all happy she was so ecstatic. She hadn't experienced these things before, they were glad she was fitting in._

_"What happened to Jacob?" Lydia frowned._

_"Junior Jacob?" Malia raised an eyebrow. "I hooked him up with Karate Katharine. You could smell lust on the pair of them whenever they were together."_

_"Malia, that's really sweet." Stiles tilted his head._

_"Yeah, I'm proud of you." Scott beamed._

_"Thanks, guys!" Malia grinned. "I hate to leave you all but I'm gonna go continue making out with the lacrosse dude."_

_The pack looked to the ground and laughed as the brown-haired teenager rushed off._

_"Oh, girls! You look really beautiful, by the way!" Malia called out before disappearing into the dancing crowd._

_"You, too!" Lydia yelled before turning to pack. "Wow."_

_"At least everyone's happy." Kira shrugged with a chuckle._

_"Okay, everyone. Let's make a toast." Stiles spoke up, lifting his cup. "To the future, and the hopes that no matter what happens or where we go, we'll always stick together."_

_Lydia looked up at Stiles as he winked at her. She smirked before lifting her glass._

_"To the future."_

Lydia woke up in pain. Her damaged ankle was throbbing, her skin was burning from the now risen sun, and she was very hungry and thirsty. Exhaling with exhaustion, she sat up against the tree and looked towards the blue sky. Assuming it was early from the position of the sun, her eyes moved to the leaves above her, bananas hanging in bunches. She squinted.

_Banana tree._

She could have slapped herself there and then. She was laying there with her stomach rumbling when there was literally some food above her the whole entire time. Slowly standing up and balancing on one foot, Lydia began to conjure up a plan of how to actually reach the bananas. Due to her ankle, climbing it was out of the scenario. She could throw rocks at the bunched fruits, but she couldn't risk ruining them. Frowning up at the tree in front of her, she inhaled before grabbing the remains of her t-shirt from her bag and hobbled down to the water. She braced herself and sunk her ankle in once again. The pain matched to what it was last night, but she could deal with it.

Sitting down on the sand, she lifted out her ankle and began to make a bandage with her torn t-shirt. It would have to do for now until rescue turned up. Making sure the bandage was secure, she stood back up and hopped back up the beach and into the line of trees. There had to be some sort of stick or branch to help her retrieve the precious bananas. Her god-damn health depended on it.


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles had been in the airport for five hours.

Nothing but explanations and updates and conversations he was fazing out because truthfully, he was numb. He was numb to sitting in a plain room with a detective and an officer explaining to Stiles what exactly happened to Lydia. He didn't want to know.

He didn't want to be told how Lydia died. That's the last thing he wanted. He didn't want the images of her drowning in his mind. The thought of her crying, terrified, panicking, afraid, on her _own_. God, it made him feel sick.

He was finally let go, being told that his father was waiting outside for him. That was all Stiles wanted right now. His father. But half of him didn't want to make eye contact with the sheriff, because Stiles knew that he'll start crying and crying made it final and real. He didn't want it to be real.

He didn't even remember walking through the airport and to the exit. He was barely aware of the families, parents, daughters, sons, partners around him that were crying for their losses. Stiles couldn't reciprocate, he was too stunned and exhausted. It was a similar feeling to when he was recovering from the nogitsune, just ten times worse.

The automatic doors in front of Stiles opened, immediately revealing his father. His heart plummeted and he could feel his bottom lip wobble. His father had been crying, visibly and he locked eyes with Stiles before leaving his car and rushing towards his son.

Stiles shook his head, the tears stinging the back of his eyes. A lump formed in his throat and he couldn't help it. He had to cry. Lydia was _dead._

"Stiles." The sheriff choked out before pulling Stiles into the tightest hug he could give his son. Stiles reacted straight away, throwing his arms around his father before breaking out into sobs.

Mr Stilinski began crying as he grabbed the back of Stiles neck to bring him closer, if that was possible. He wanted to fix his son's broken heart, he wanted to bring poor Lydia back. She didn't deserve the cruel end to her life.

"Dad..." Stiles cried, closing his eyes tightly as he buried his face into his father's shoulder. "I hurt. So much."

The Sheriff pulled his eyebrows together in pain and guilt towards his son. Stiles didn't deserve this, either. "I know, son. I know."

"I-I-I can't beli-ieve it. She's gone." Stiles' sobs were getting louder as the reality repeatedly punched him in the chest. "She's not coming back."

"I'm so sorry." The Sheriff almost gasped as the situation became more real to him, too. The emotion in his son's voice was too painful to listen to. He pulled away from the hug and held onto Stiles' shoulders. "You shouldn't be here any longer. Let's get you home."

Stiles nodded through tears, looking around at the gloomy airport before his father lead him to the passenger side of his police car. The door opened and then he was inside, his actions now a blur. Nothing was real any more. Nothing felt clear, as if his life was now all a dream. He leaned against the window and looked out at the sky, watching a plane take off into the clouds above. Reality kicked him in the gut again. He began to shake, closing his eyes. He thought back to Lydia's leaving party, their conversation by the pool. It brought goosebumps to his arms.

_"You're not planning on drowning me, are you, Stiles?" Lydia smirked as they sat down next to the blue water._

_Stiles chuckled and rolled his eyes. "No...I just, wanted to tell you something."_

_Lydia cocked her head. "What is it?"_

_"This...us, Lydia." Stiles swallowed. "What happened at prom. I just want to make sure it wasn't a one time thing-"_

_Lydia shook her head quickly. "It wasn't."_

_Stiles felt his shoulders relax as he looked at the strawberry-blonde beauty. "It wasn't?"_

_"No, Stiles. I wouldn't have done it if it was just a thing. I'd never do that to you." Lydia was honest, placing a hand over Stiles'._

_"O-okay." Stiles nodded, looking at the reflection of the moon bouncing off of the water. "So...what now?"_

_Lydia nodded understandingly. She'd been thinking the same thing and she'd thought ahead of what to say to Stiles. "I can't expect you to wait for me."_

_Stiles chuckled before entwining his fingers with the hand that was rested upon his. "Lydia, I've done my fair share of waiting. I can most definitely wait another eight months."_

_Lydia looked up at him with glassy eyes. "But, _why? _All that time wasted on me-"_

_"Lyds, you're totally and completely worth it."_

_Lydia blinked, resisting the urge to cry. She had done that more than she'd hoped tonight._

_"It's you, Lydia." Stiles smiled, bringing her hand to his lips before planting a sweet, innocent kiss onto her skin. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the honesty in Stiles' actions blossom from him._

_"You're unbelievable." She whispered. "We'll make it work, I promise-"_

_"I know we will. I have faith in us, Lydia. I've had faith since the third grade." Stiles' winked, watching a warm smile spread across her features. "I don't think you realise how long I've wanted this to happen. And now it has...y-you've made me the most happiest I've ever been."_

_Lydia felt a tear roll down her face as she repeated Stiles' words in her mind. She imagined him and Malia a few months back before they broke it off. He seemed so happy, and the fact that she had made that happiness even deeper, it was the nicest feeling in the world._

_"Stiles, I was so stupid. So, _so _stupid." Lydia shook her head before wiping away the tear with her free hand. "All this time, you were there. The same Stiles that's in front of me right now. And I just couldn't see it. I wasted so much time and for that I'm sorry."_

_"There's nothing to be sorry about, Lydia." Stiles shook his head with a frown. "It sounds corny and if we weren't having such a deep conversation right now you would be laughing at me after saying it, but I believe in fate. And timing."_

_Lydia smirked before letting him continue._

_"There's a time and a place for everything. Maybe our time and place wasn't when I had that creepy crush on you. Maybe our time and place is now. And I think it couldn't have been more perfect, even if you are going away for eight months. It's beautiful, because this last year has been made for us to grow closer, learn more about each other and now look. We're best friends."_

_Lydia grinned at the brown-eyed boy. "That's a very good theory. I like that theory."_

_Stiles smiled. "Me too."_

_"I don't know what I'm going to do without you for such a long period of time." Lydia shook her head, peering in Stiles' brown orbs. "I mean, who's going to eat all of my cereal and make holes in all my sweaters?"_

_Stiles smirked before tapping Lydia's nose. He got to his feet and pulled Lydia up with him. He looked down at her with amazement before lightly running his fingers through her hair. "The wait will be worth it."_

_Lydia smiled as Stiles placed a kiss on her forehead. She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes._

_"And it's not as if I don't replace the cereal after eating it."_

_"Stiles, you end up eating the whole box straight after replacing it."_

"Stiles?"

His eyes drifted open to the sound of his father's voice travelling into his ears. He sat up and looked out of the window, seeing his house in front of them. He was oblivious to begin with, his flash back still fresh in his mind. Then he remembered the worst and everything came crashing down inside of him. He closed his eyes in pain.

"Why didn't I tell her..."

"Son?" The sheriff leaned through the door of the driver's seat, waiting for Stiles to repeat himself.

"Dad, why am I such an idiot?" Stiles opened his eyes with a fresh batch of tears falling down his face. "Why didn't I tell her?"

"Stiles, hey. Look at me." The sheriff frowned. "Tell her what?"

"I should of told her that I was in love with her." Stiles shook his head, anger quickly filling him like thick lava. "She died not knowing that I loved her."

The sheriff swallowed. "Stiles, don't do this now-"

"She was the love of my life and she had no idea." Stiles shook, the panic rising in him as he desperately begged for her to come back. "Oh, god. Dad, I can't do this."

The sheriff quickly closed his door and rushed around to Stiles' side, opening the door as his son cried into his hands, shaking his head frantically.

"I can't live my life without her."


	7. Chapter 7

Lydia looked out to the ocean, so many questions going through her mind. Why hadn't she been rescued?

One helicopter, she'd seen. One helicopter. This wasn't right.

She looked at the long branch next to her as she sat on the sand in defeat. She'd managed to eventually get one banana from the tree after attempting for half an hour. Her arms ached and her ankle was throbbing, and none of that mattered. Because she threw the banana back up after eating it. It was too early for her body to be rejecting food, so why did she throw it up?

Her teeth were furry, her hair was beginning to grease and she wanted to shower. Badly. Clouds were rolling in and she wasn't ready to be soaked once more. She'd much rather drink the rain than be soaked in it, but she had nothing to store it in. Where on earth was the rescue team?

They should be at least going down to the plane wreckage to look for something, _anything._

Lydia placed her head in her hands as she tried to ignore how thirsty and hungry she was. And how much she wanted to brush her teeth. She needed to find something. There must be something on this island. She didn't survive a plane crash to be stranded on an island of _nothing._

Exhaling, she pushed her hair back and reached for the branch, snapping it in two. Using them as crutches, she pulled herself up and placed her bag over her shoulder before she ventured through the wall of trees once more. Lydia looked ahead at the dried out land that seemed to go on for miles, but she needed to find help. Water, food, anything.

As she tried her best to get as much use out of her wooden crutches, she began to think of something that made her happy. Something to take her mind off of her current situation. Prom night clouded her head.

_"You know, I know you've changed a lot since last year, but..." Stiles sat down next to Lydia as she watched everyone begin to dance to a slower song. She watched Scott and Kira laugh to themselves, Kira resting her head on Scott's shoulder as he probably told her another lame joke. Even Malia was enjoying herself. She seemed a little off put to start with, at the whole 'turning around in a circle to a slow song' but she was getting into it. She'd rested her head on the college guy's shoulder and was smiling._

_Lydia looked at Stiles as his leg tapped on the ground. "You still like slow dancing...right?"_

_Stiles watched Lydia grin before she stood up and walked around Stiles, her hand drifting across his back. "Correct. You want to dance?"_

_Stiles smiled before standing up and taking Lydia's hand. "I thought you'd never ask."_

_The pair made their way to the dance floor, wading through the crowd. Stiles turned Lydia to face him and placed a hand on the small of her back. Lydia smiled lightly before placing her hand on his shoulder and their spare hands found one another. Stiles entwined his fingers with Lydia's before they looked around._

_"What does this remind you of?" Lydia looked up at Stiles with a smirk. Stiles looked back with an eyebrow raised. He shrugged._

_"Last year, prom. Surely you didn't forget, Stiles..."_

_"No! No, of course I didn't. I'm just surprised that _you _remembered." Stiles shook his head._

_"Oh, come on. I wasn't that bad, Stiles. Of course I'd remember us dancing at prom." Lydia smirked, rolling her eyes._

_"Well, it's just one of those things we haven't spoken about. Like, ever." Stiles pulled in his lips._

_"We don't speak about a lot of things." Lydia mumbled, looking around at the people surrounding them._

_"Like what?" Stiles frowned, his heart racing. He knew exactly what she meant._

_"Just, things. Lets enjoy this moment, shall we?" Lydia placed her head in the crook of Stiles' neck and closed her eyes._

_Stiles didn't know what to do with himself. He tried his best to focus on not tripping over Lydia's feet but with her breath on his neck he was finding that hard to do. Now she'd brought it up, Stiles couldn't help but think about the incident in the boys locker room. The unspoken kiss. Why would she bring that up?_

_Lydia looked over Stiles' shoulder as Kira and Scott shared an embrace. She just wished Stiles would make a god-damn move already. Enough with dancing around the fact they have chemistry, or tension. Right now, she was at prom, and the whole 'what about their friendship' crap had flown out of the window._

_The thought of nothing happening between them before Lydia flew to Australia was rattling her. Kira's words played on her mind ever since she'd spoken them. Did she really want to leave it at 'just friends'? Not say a word about their feelings, for her to return eight months later and he'd found someone else? She couldn't think about it. _

_Stiles fought with himself in his mind before he decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. He unravelled his hand from Lydia's and placed it on her back, pulling her closer._

_"God, Stiles-" Lydia looked up at the brown-eyed boy, caught off guard by the sudden closeness._

_Stiles kissed Lydia. His heart racing at a million miles an hour, and he kissed Lydia. He was kissing Lydia, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek and she was kissing back. She was deepening the kiss, and Stiles could not believe what was actually happening. All the imagining of what this moment would be like when eventually he'd make a move and it was happening. It was real._

_Lydia placed her hands on Stiles neck as she melting into his frame. He'd actually done it. A* to Stiles Stilinski._

_They parted, and Lydia was speechless. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her best friend, his thumb stroking her cheek._

_"I'm..." Stiles began, looking down at the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life, her lips swollen and her eyes round. "I'm, er, sorry-"_

_"Please do not apologise for kissing me, Stilinski." Lydia glared up at Stiles. "God, you know how to ruin a moment."_

_Stiles closed his eyes in annoyance at himself. "I'm sorry-"_

_Lydia placed her finger on his lips before stealing another quick kiss from him before the song changed to a more up-beat track._

_Stiles opened his eyes before looking down at Lydia then to the people around them, now dancing to the chart song. The reality of the situation sunk in before he was in shock himself._

_"Lydia Martin, did I just kiss you?"_

_"Yes, Stiles. You did."_

_"And, what exactly do you think about that?"_

_"Well, I kissed you back so that kind of answers your question."_

_"So, you're not annoyed that I kissed you?"_

_"No, Stiles. I'm glad you finally did it."_

_Stiles looked down at the red-head who was smirking. He was acting like a complete idiot._

_Lydia laughed. "You're so cute when you're nervous."_

_"I just kissed Lydia Martin." Stiles looked down at the girl in his arms._

_"Are you going to applause yourself for it or are you going to kiss me again?" Lydia rolled her eyes._

_"I'm thinking the latter." Stiles nodded as Lydia grinned. He brought her close once more and kissed her just as passionately as the first time._

Lydia wanted to collapse at this point. She'd walked and walked and walked and the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and she could feel the start of what looked like a heavy rainfall begin to fall down on her bare arms.

Three days of not eating, not drinking and she was beginning to feel very pissed about the situation. She was meant to be at home. Being drowned in her mother's love and spending time with Stiles. Hugging Stiles, kissing Stiles, falling asleep with Stiles watching films and eating crappy food. She was so alone on this island. No one else there to go through all this with her. She was stranded, alone with nothing. There was nothing around her. She'd been walking for forty-five minutes and she'd not seen a single thing that could help her in any way.

She reached a tree and placed her bag and the two branches underneath it before turning around and looking out. Nothing but dirt. How was this fair?

"Whoever is in charge up there, start taking your fucking job seriously!" Lydia yelled up at the grey sky, pointing to the thick clouds. "Allison, gramps, Aiden, someone up there, just help me out!"

Lydia looked to the dry ground as she realised what she was doing. Moaning to the above wasn't going to help her. The rain had begun falling heavily so Lydia just sat on the ground and let it soak her. She was giving up. Looking down at her bandaged foot, she sighed and looked up with closed eyes, opening her mouth to catch as many drops as she could.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Rescue has been put on hold as a storm closes over the wreckage of the plane, but officials have claimed that a search will begin once it is safe to go forward with. Megyn Kelly, Fox News."_

Stiles blinked, his eyes wandering past his television, staring straight at his bedroom wall. "Scott, can we turn this off please?"

Scott almost jumped next to him before hunting for the remote on Stiles' bed. He was quick to turn the television off before resting back into his position of leaning against the wall next to Stiles.

They both stayed silent for another ten minutes, staring at the photos on Stiles' wall. All they could see was Lydia's grin outshining the other photos. A picture stood out more than the others; a picture of Lydia and Allison.

"You know, I've been trying to think of something..._anything_ to make this feel slightly less worse than it already does." Scott croaked, his voice horse from the crying. "But, she's with Allison now. They're together somewhere."

"Neither of them should be _somewhere_." Stiles muttered, his eyes wandering to outside his window. "They should both be here. With us."

Scott fell silent again. The pain in his chest deepened from Stiles' words. He was right. "Does it like, hit you every couple of minutes that this has happened? That Lydia's gone?"

"Yes." Stiles replied, feeling fresh tears producing. "Hits me right in the fucking gut."

"What are we gonna do?" Scott asked, bringing his knees to his chest. He felt like a child again. Sitting next to Stiles on his bed, like a pair of kids.

"I don't know, Scott." Stiles mumbled. "I really don't know."

"We were a trio." Scott shrugged. "We stuck together like glue."

"Lydia was the glue." Stiles sniffed, shaking his head.

"It's crazy to think that." Scott exhaled. "A few years ago she was somebody we didn't associate with, she was too good for us. We were the two that were stuck together at the hip and she was just another face. Then somehow, along the line, she was the one that held us up. Got us out of trouble, which was a lot. She was the brains, the laughter. She was the one that kept us human. And now she's-"

"Please don't finish that sentence." Stiles' voice wavered as he shut his eyes tightly.

Scott didn't know what to say to make his best friend feel any better. There were no words to make this better. He'd lost the love of his life, they'd both lost their best friend. Scott looked ahead at the turned off television, his mind falling behind.

_"Can you two like separate for a moment while we celebrate this amazing song I've just requested?!" Scott yelled over the music, interrupting Lydia and Stiles._

_They both jumped before letting each other go, their faces red with embarrassment._

_"Guys, come on. It's me." Scott rolled his eyes. "Remember that I can sense your heartbeats and can smell lust on the pair of you from a thousand miles. I've been waiting for this to happen for a good six months now."_

_Lydia glared at her friend as Stiles buried his head in his hands. "Go to hell, McCall."_

_"Lets dance, please!" Scott begged his friends. "Kira's gone to speak to her dad, I need my wing men!"_

_Lydia's scowl grew heavier._

_"Man and woman. I need my wind man and woman. You guys know this song, right?"_

_Stiles sighed before nodding. "How could we not know this song. You've been obsessed with Blink 182 since I can remember."_

_"So you'll know the words and sing along with me, right?" Scott grinned, beginning to dance like an idiot._

_Stiles looked down at Lydia with a raised eyebrow._

_"It's not actually a bad song." Lydia shrugged at the brown-eyed boy before dancing over to Scott._

_"Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home!" Stiles watched his two best friends sing along to the song he'd heard constantly throughout his friendship with Scott. In his bedroom, in his car, when sharing headphones, it was Scott's theme song. Stiles grinned before shimmering over to the pair._

_"Late night, come home, work sucks, I know!" Stiles sang as he pop and locked._

_"She left me roses by the stairs," Lydia jumped around in a circle, feeling her up do hairstyle begin to loosen but she didn't care. Since when could the pack get away with doing stuff like this?_

_"Surprises, let me know she cares!" Scott sang, grabbing hold of Lydia's hand before twirling her._

_The three of them danced like complete idiots, and Lydia got to witness Stiles do the moonwalk for the first time. She was impressed._

_"Step back and watch the master." Lydia moved Stiles out of the way before she broke out into robot dancing._

_Stiles and Scott cheered with shock, clapping their hands as they watched Lydia perform the move perfectly._

_"Lydia Martin is doing the robot!" Stiles laughed, his head falling back. "Do the worm, do the worm!"_

_"In this dress?" Lydia folded her arms with an eyebrow raised. "Over my dead body!"_

_Before Stiles could say another word, Scott was on the floor. Break dancing._

_"Oh my god!" Stiles and Lydia screeched, laughing uncontrollably. "Somebody needs to be videoing this!"_

_"Got it covered!" Kira yelled from the crowd forming around the three. She videoed her boyfriend spinning on the floor._

_"You know, two years ago, before he got bit, this kid had no coordination at all." Stiles called out to Lydia. "Now look at him."_

_"I didn't know he could even balance on his head." Lydia laughed, applauding her friend as he danced._

_Scott finished with a pose on the floor, winking at Kira's camera._

_"Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights on, carry me home!" Scott leaped up from the floor and grabbed hold of Kira's hand, spinning her around and around._

_Stiles and Lydia danced and jumped like maniacs, and it was the first time Stiles and Scott had even seen Lydia headbang to a song. _

_Her hair had fallen from its place and was now a big cluster of curls falling down her back, her forehead was gleaming with sweat and her lipstick had rubbed off on his mouth but god, Stiles had never seen a more beautiful picture in front of him._

_He grabbed hold of the strawberry-blonde, tilted her back and placed his lips on hers, his hands entangled in her long thick curls._

_Scott held onto Kira as they both sang along and danced, watching Lydia and Stiles giggle and laugh and dance and exchange looks that could only be described, in Scott's point of view, as love. In this moment, he couldn't have been happier._

Scott cleared his throat, preventing himself from producing any more tears. He'd done his share of crying and he didn't want to start again. He turned to look at his best friend next to him. Stiles was far more broken, far more distraught and far more sad than Scott. He'd watched his best friend for years pine over a certain red-head, and over the years became best friends with her, fought monsters with her, fell in love with her. And it had all been snatched away from him. Stiles didn't deserve this.

Scott wanted to take his pain away, put he couldn't take away this kind of pain. He wanted to stop Stiles from hurting, he wanted to bring Lydia back. God, did he wish that. To have Lydia pacing in front of them both, telling them to get off their asses and stop moping around, actually do something productive with their day. She was a bright light, shined on anyone she'd meet. And that's why everyone loved her, she made a mark on anyone who would come across her. You would never forget a girl like Lydia Martin. Scott looked back up at the pictures on the wall, Lydia's bright smile anywhere he looked. She would never be erased. She made too much of an impact on their lives for it to go back to normal.


	9. Chapter 9

"Day five."

Lydia swallowed in pain, her mouth and throat were so dry. She looked ahead at her phone leaning against the tree in front of her, videoing her message. "Fifth day of no food or water, and no sign of any rescue."

Lydia looked down at her outstretched leg. Her ankle was becoming more swollen which Lydia assumed was because an infection was taking its toll. Looking back up at the camera, she wanted to laugh.

"This is so fucking stupid. I'm recording myself, stranded on an island. It's like a god-damn movie." She pushed her greasy hair back and wiped the dried sleep from the corner of her eyes. "I'm not hungry any more. My stomach's numb, but I need water desperately."

As foolish as she felt, Lydia enjoyed talking about her situation. It felt good to talk about it.

"I was hoping once I'd turned my phone on, I'd have signal. Anything. But nothing. I don't know where the hell I am and I have no way of contacting anybody." She picked at a small tuft of dead grass from the dry soil next to her.

"I don't even know why I decided to make this video. I suppose I'm just looking at this more realistically. The chance of me being rescued or surviving is low. The chances of me seeing my family and friends again are..." Lydia could feel her voice waver as she imagine her family and friends crying back home. It was painful to think about her loved ones grieving. "...They're slim. Very slim. So, I just wanted to let them know that I love them. And whenever this message is found, I'd just really love for them to see it."

"Mom...I love you _so _much." Tears sprang to Lydia's eyes, imagining her mother watching this video in the future. She wanted to give it to her now, because the thought of her seeing this in months or years was agonising. She didn't want her to have to spend her life wondering what Lydia's last words or thoughts were, wondering if she suffered. "You've been my rock my whole life. You're so strong and fierce. You raised me and Sienna all by yourself and, I know we weren't the easiest to deal with but you done good. Really good and I look up to you for that. I want to be just like you when I raise my own-"

Lydia slammed her mouth shut. She couldn't talk about her false future. A future that was never going to happen.

"Sienna, I regret not seeing you before I left. I regret not seeing you in the past year and it's none of our fault. You've been travelling and mom has been working and I was finishing school. It's just the way things are but I want to let you know that I'm so proud of you, too. You've done all the things you said you wanted to do ever since we were little and I'm so proud to call you my sister. I love you. You and mom, you'll be okay. You've got each other. I don't want you to cry over me. Please don't cry." Lydia felt the tears fall down her cheeks. "And dad, if they let you watch this, I know you weren't around and I know you weren't the greatest of dads and sometimes I did resent you for that but I do love you. You're my dad and I can't help but love you and miss you. So don't have any regrets because mom done a great job. I passed all my exams with flying colours and I met the greatest group of friends you could imagine and I had the best experience in Sydney. I promise you guys, I've loved every minute of it. So stay strong, and stay together. You're my family and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you guys so just please promise me you'll love each other and keep each other in your hearts. That's all I ask." Lydia wiped her tears. "Oh, and look after Prada. Don't forget to feed her and take her for walks and don't yell at her when she sleeps on my pillow. She likes it."

Lydia played with her fingers to stop them from shaking. This was harder than she imagined.

"I also want to tell my friends that I'm so grateful for meeting them. Malia, I've never met a girl like you. Ever. You're so strong and funny and inappropriate but that's why I love you. You've learned so much so quickly and you should be proud of the person you are today. Thank you for always having my back and making sure I was safe. You're an amazing friend." Lydia smiled at the camera. "Kira. You deserve all good things. You're the most kind and loving person I've ever come across. Always making sure we're okay, and making us smile. And I hope that you and Scott stay together forever. That would make me so happy. You're perfect together and you work well together and you're both so in love with each other, I couldn't imagine it any other way." Lydia was really crying at this point. The tears were falling down her cheeks and into the corners of her mouth and she couldn't stop. This was her last good bye and it hurt.

"Scott McCall." Lydia closed her eyes and cried. Just his name made her upset. "You're my best friend. I hold you so close in my heart. You have been the most caring and humble friend these past years. You've looked after your pack with nothing but love and protection, never thinking of yourself before others. I want you to promise me that you'll stop blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault, and take a nice vacation. Somewhere hot. Have a non-alcoholic drink on me." Lydia smiled at the camera. "You deserve a break. You deserve the world. And I hope that whatever happens, you'll hold the pack together and you'll keep Stiles with you at all times." Lydia laughed through her tears. "He'd be in pieces without you. We all would."

"Derek, we've never been a close pair. But I just wanted to thank you for looking after me, from the moment I met you you've protected me and I owe you for that. Don't let the pack drive you into insanity." Lydia chuckled. "But, do me and favour and get them out of trouble when they manage to fall into it. I won't be around to help them any more, so I'm relying on you."

Lydia fell silent, her throat tightening and her heart throbbing.

"Stiles Stilinski."

She couldn't even pronounce his name without sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh god, I can't do this. I'm sorry, Stiles."

She let herself relax for a second, quickly wiping her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. "Stiles, I'm so sorry. The last thing you said to me was that you would be waiting at the airport and the thought of you standing there completely oblivious to what had happened breaks my heart. I'm so sorry you had to go through that and I wish I could just rewind and land the god damn plane myself because the thought of not saying good bye to you properly hurts. It hurts so much. I can't spend the rest of my life with you. I won't hear your laughter, or your ridiculous jokes ever again. I won't ever get to see your smile again. I want nothing more right now than to fall into your arms and be held by you until I fall asleep. It sickens me that as soon as we finally move forward from our friendship and into a relationship it gets snatched away because I honestly love you so much."

Lydia was sobbing. She didn't want this to be happening. She rubbed her eyes and let her head fall into her hands in defeat.

"I love you, Stiles Stilinski and I can't believe I didn't tell you before. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, raise a family with you, grow old with you. And now I can't do that and I'm so upset." Lydia gasped through her tears. "You said you'd wait for me, and you did, and now all that was for nothing. I'm sorry, and I want you to not wait. I want you to move on and find someone that loves you just as much as you love me, because you deserve that. You deserve love. You deserve everything that you want in life, because you're smart, and beautiful and you're the whole freaking world. You're my world. You're all I care about and I can't believe I'm losing you. It's not fair. It's not fair to you and I'm so, so sorry."

Lydia took some more deep breaths before pushing her hair back and looking at the camera. "I love you, Stiles Stilinski. I love all of you deeply. Don't be sad. I'm gonna be with Allison soon, and we'll be looking down on you all, making sure you're all okay. So whenever you're sad, just imagine us up there, laughing and joking and smiling down on Beacon Hills. Melissa, Sheriff, all of you. You've been so wonderful to me and I couldn't have asked for a better family. So stay safe, fight off the monsters and stick together."

"And I know that in the future, I'll just be a memory, but _please _don't forget about me." Lydia cried.

"I don't want to be forgotten."


	10. Chapter 10

"Let us commend Lydia Rae Martin to the mercy of God."

There Stiles was. Dressed in black, standing in a muddy grave yard, rain drops falling from the ends of his flat hair, surrounded by Lydia's family and friends. Ten days after Lydia had been snatched from this world.

Ten long days since Lydia left the earth, taking Stiles Stilinski's heart with her.

Scott stood next to the brown-haired boy, moving his umbrella slightly to cover Stiles from the rain. The sheriff stood on the other side of Stiles, staring at the soaking wet grass.

Stiles lifted his head and scanned over the surroundings, only now realizing just how gloomy this event was. The bags under Stiles' eyes felt heavier than usual.

All these people, all here to morn the death of Lydia who wasn't even present. They were hosting a funeral for nothing. They were standing around absolutely nothing, because Lydia Martin's body hadn't been discovered yet. Every other passenger's body; located in the South Atlantic. But not Lydia's.

They were saying goodbye to a marble grave stone with Lydia's name on it. Stiles stared at it numbly.

_The past is history. The future, a mystery_

_But we will hold dear our memories of her_

_Her smile, the sound of her laughter...forever._

It didn't do her justice, Stiles thought. What about her academic career? Her love for knowledge? How she fought monsters with non-humans and won? How she, after losing her best friend, remained strong and kept on going?

Stiles' heart fluttered at the memory of Allison, and he turned his head to the grave stone next to Lydia's.

_Once a warrior_

_Once an angel on earth_

_But never forgotten._

Stiles was glad of this. Two best friends, fallen soldiers, together in the end. But they weren't together. Because Lydia's body was floating in the middle of the ocean somewhere.

Stiles closed his eyes and swallowed. No more tears; he was far too exhausted and far too empty.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us all with the gift of this earthly life and has given to our sister Lydia, her span of years and gifts of character."

Stiles watched Lydia's mother and sister stand opposite, holding each other. He couldn't imagine how they felt. He couldn't even relate to the pain they were experiencing.

Stiles felt Scott lean against him slightly. Stiles could most definitely relate to Scott. They'd both lost the person they loved. And now here they were, standing in front of both of their graves.

He couldn't listen to this priest. He couldn't be involved in real life any more. It was all a blur, all a sick twisted nightmare that he could never really wake from. This man's words were nothing to him.

He closed his eyes and imagined just him and Lydia, together, happy.

"God our Father, we thank you now for all her life,"

_"Stiles, put me down!"_

"For every memory of love and joy,"

_"I swear to god, if you rip this dress I will kill you."_

"For every good deed done by her,"

_Stiles ran along the side of the Beacon Hills lake, Lydia over his shoulders. "Hey Scott, you think we should put them down?"_

"And every sorrow shared with us."

_Scott ran past Stiles, bridal carrying Kira. "No, Stiles. I don't think she should."_

"We thank you for her life and for her death,"

_Three o'clock in the morning, four teenagers running off the adrenaline from their prom and after party, dressed up in suits and dresses and heels, feeling the most free they've ever felt._

"We thank you for the rest in Christ she now enjoys,"

_"Stiles, I can feel your arms shaking and I know that you won't be able to hold me for much longer-" Lydia's panic was replaced with a scream of laughter as Stiles tripped over his own feet and they landed in a heap of mess on the cold ground._

"We thank you for giving her to us,"

_Their laughter was the only thing you could hear through the night, arms and legs wrapped around each other as they tried to regain their posture. Stiles stared at Lydia in the moonlight, her skin pale and her eyes lit up like fire._

"We thank you for the glory we shall share together."

_Stiles never needed reminding of why he fell in love with Lydia to begin with. But right now, with her body melting into his, her skin covered in goosebumps, her hair flying freely with the light wind, and her laughter ringing through the air...this. This was the reason why he fell in love with Lydia Martin._

_Because she was Lydia Martin._

"We thank you for the life of your child; Lydia Rae Martin."

_"I've just gotta say, Stiles." Scott yelled from down the river side, slow dancing with Kira. "We have the most amazing, most perfect girlfriends in the whole entire universe."_

"Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord."

_"Amen to that, McCall!"_

**"Amen."**


	11. Chapter 11

"Lydia, wake up."

Lydia's eyes fluttered weakly. Her lips were dry. Her throat was dry. Her body had given up.

"Wake up, sleepy head."

Lydia tried to swallow and slowly sat up, her head throbbing and her arms shaking as they pushed her upper body up from the dirt. Looking around, she blinked as Stiles sat against the tree next to her, basking in the shade. "How long was I out for?"

"Fourteen hours, you little sleep monster." Stiles smirked.

Lydia exhaled before slowly getting herself into an upright position. Her voice croaked as she asked another question. "How...how long has it been now?"

"Thirteen days, Lyds." Stiles looked down at the thirsty ground. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I'm dying." Lydia replied matter-of-factly whilst rubbing her eyes.

"You tried your phone yet?" Stiles asked, squinting his eyes from a ray of sunshine.

"Yes; no luck. This island is abandoned. I've got no hope." Lydia mumbled.

"Don't say that." Stiles frowned.

"Hey, at least you've got us here to cheer you up." Scott's voice chirped from the other side of Lydia. He smiled at her comfortingly.

"That's true. I wouldn't want it any other way." Lydia smiled, splitting open her chapped lips. The pain was numb, she didn't care.

"Lydia, I'm going to call for a beauty therapist to come fix your face and nails. They look awful." Lydia's mother called out from ahead, walking away from the three with her phone held high in the air.

"Mom, don't bother, you won't get any..." Lydia called out after her before she disappeared through the trees. She let out a sigh. "Signal. She never listens."

"She's just looking out for you, Lydia." Kira smiled, walking out of the sunshine and into the shade. "It's very sweet."

"I know she means well, but the last thing I need is a manicure." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Your mom's got a point, though." Malia stood in front of Lydia, folding her arms. "You look like shit."

Lydia chuckled, closing her eyes. "Thanks for the kind words, Malia."

"You can fight this, you know." Derek's voice was next. Lydia opened her eyes and studied the older were-wolf sitting next to Scott with a stern expression. "You can keep going, I know you can."

Lydia let her shoulders sag. "There's only so much the human body can take, Derek. I'm not like you."

"I know you're not. You don't have the ability to heal faster or have an amazing sense of smell. You're not a were-wolf." Derek stated.

"You're Lydia Martin."

Lydia looked up at the new voice.

Allison sat down in front of Lydia and smiled. "I don't think you realise how proud I am of you. You've keep yourself alive. You've been stubborn and positive and you've kept yourself going till the very end. That's the Lydia I know."

Lydia smiled and felt tears fill her eyes. "I can't keep going, Allison. It's physically impossible. My body will give up eventually."

Allison allowed a tear to fall down her face. "But that's okay. It's okay to let go. It's okay to face your fear. You have been so strong, Lydia."

Lydia sniffed.

"Maybe it's time to let go."

Allison's eyes bored into Lydia's, full of happiness and pride. She'd never looked so beautiful. She never liked seeing Lydia cry.

Lydia exhaled and brought her hands up to wipe her eyes, but when she'd let them rest again on her lap, Allison had disappeared. Stiles, Scott, Derek, they were all gone.

Her heart plummeted. Where did they all go? Why didn't they stay with her? She used the last of her strength to pull herself up and hobble out into the sunlight, desperate for them to return.

"Guys, don't go!"

Her weak and croaky voice echoed out through the trees, the desperation and heart break clear in her plea.

The sun was scorching down on her, but Lydia felt a cold chill wash over her. She'd never felt so alone in her entire life.


	12. Chapter 12

"Stiles, it's time to get up."

Stiles grumbled from underneath is comforter. He knew this was coming. "Dad, I want to stay in bed."

"As your father, I'm asking you to get out of bed. Now." The sheriff leaned against Stiles' doorway, dressed in his uniform, ready for work.

"Dad. _Please_, I just want to stay here."

"I'm not asking you any more, Stiles. I'm now telling you. Get out of bed." The sheriff rubbed his face. All he wanted was to see his son out of bed, cleaned up and dressed.

Stiles burst. He sat up, his covers flying off of him. In that split second, he had rage and spitefulness dripping off the end of his tongue. "I don't want to get up, dad! Leave me alone!"

The sheriff's insides twisted. He could see Stiles' regretted the outburst immediately.

He wasn't angry at his son, the sheriff understood completely. But it was so god damn painful to watch Stiles be in this state. Stiles' father had watched him deteriorate from a teenage boy to a possessed nogitsune with his very own eyes. He watched Stiles cry himself to sleep to then cry himself awake more times that he'd wished. This situation pained the sheriff more, because this time, it wasn't an evil spirit taking over his son. This was all Stiles, all human. Stiles was dealing with a human situation and the sheriff couldn't call Deaton or Scott or Derek to take that away. Stiles was heartbroken and riddled with grief and all the sheriff wanted right now was to take that all away, and he couldn't. The next best thing he could do was help his son get through it.

"Stiles, do you remember when your mother passed?" The sheriff asked, hiding the pain in his voice. He sat at the end of Stiles' bed and looked over at his son. "Do you remember how bad I was? Not sleeping, not eating...do you remember what you said to me?"

Stiles closed his eyes, the memory still so very fresh. "I said, what would mom think if she saw you."

"That's right." The sheriff nodded, waiting a few seconds before continuing. "What would Lydia think if she saw you right now?"

Stiles stiffened, as if he'd been caught by the banshee herself. He played out her reaction in his head; crinkled nose, a gasp escaping her mouth, a look of disapproval as her eyes bored his room.

""Stilinksi, it's been three weeks!"," Stiles let a grin spread across his face as he mimicked Lydia. ""You've slept in the same sheets for three weeks, your curtains haven't been opened once and I can smell your stench from across the room!"."

The sheriff laughed, shaking his head. "Do you understand what I'm saying now? It will not hurt you leaving these four walls."

"Dad, I'm scared." Stiles confessed. "I'm absolutely terrified that if I continue my life, I'll forget her. I don't want to forget her. I don't want to forget anything about her."

"Stiles, I still remember the clothes your mother was wearing the day she passed." The sheriff began. "I remember every single one of her plaited hairstyles. I remember her laugh like it was yesterday. I sometimes hear her laugh wonder through the hallway. I remember the dimples when she smiled, I remember her two step dance she would do while she vaccumed. I remember the look on her face when she'd walk in and find us both on the sofa watching Doctor Who when we should've been washing the dishes she'd asked us to do. I remember every single detail about that lady, and do you know why?"

Memories of Stiles' mother flashed through his mind like a video. He shook his head.

"Women like your mother and Lydia, they're impossible to forget."

Stiles' heart twisted. He looked up at the photos on his wall, Lydia was all that he could see. His father was right. How could he forget the astonishingly beautiful strawberry-blonde grinning right back at him? He thought about the two most important women in his life. It hurt that they were gone, but he'd never forget them. It tore Stiles' heart to shreds knowing that he had no choice but to live a life without either one of them in it, but he'd had the privilege of basking in their presence. He cherished that.

"So, I was thinking you could come to work with me today." The sheriff spoke softly and comfortingly. "We spoke about you coming down the station to earn some work experience. How about you start that now?"

Stiles blinked, still staring at the life of his life scattered across his wall. Her smiling back at him, it felt like a sign. That was silly - Lydia would have pushed for Stiles to work at the station long ago - but it felt like she was telling him to do it. He wasn't leaving her behind. He was bringing her with him, using the knowledge he'd learnt from her to help him better himself in his line of work. Everything he'd learnt about crime solving, clues, forensics; it was all down to Lydia. He wanted to use her knowledge to help their town.

"Yeah, dad." Stiles nodded. "I think I'm ready."

"I'm proud of you son." The sheriff smiled, patting his son lightly on the back. "Now go get in the shower. You stink."


	13. Chapter 13

Nothing was real any more.

Lydia was prepared to scream for her own death, but she was too weak to do so.

She thought this moment would be scary. Lydia always imagined her last few minutes to be frightening, but it was almost a peaceful feeling. Knowing she wouldn't feel so empty and broken, feeling like her insides had given up.

When she imagined her death, Lydia assumed it would have been during a fight; pack versus monsters. She imagined herself to get involved in the action when Scott, Stiles and Derek specifically told her to stay out of it, for her own safety. She imagined it to be a heroic death, just like Allison's. Saving a pack member from losing their own life. Lydia never thought she'd die alone. But, stumbling across this deserted island, dying, on her last breath, that had in fact became reality.

Her eyes were fixated on nothing. Just the heat waves far ahead of her, floating above the dried land. The strength of the sun had become numb on her skin, and the pain of her infected and swelling ankle was no longer there. Nothing felt real, nothing felt solid. Lydia felt as if she was floating above this piece of land, weightless, slowly lifting up towards the sky.

How long she had been walking, Lydia couldn't tell. Her bag was skating across the floor behind her as she dragged her legs towards a destination she wasn't quite sure of. But she intended on walking until she let out her last breath, whether it be ten minutes, or ten hours-

She was falling.

Why was she falling? It was a hill, a cliff.

Rocks were digging in to her back, her chest, her skull. She was rolling down a cliff. Why hadn't she seen the cliff?

It was game over for her now, she was sure of it. She couldn't even yell out in pain, her body was too far gone. She just closed her eyes, knowing that once she impacted with the ground, that was it.

She toppled faster and faster, flashes of Stiles in her mind; laughing, singing, kissing her, hugging her. All good last memories. And when she fell onto what felt like sand, his smile was still plastered in her mind.

She'd survived the fall, but she knew she was finished. At least it was a little bit of action.

The pain on the back of her head felt sticky and numb, she couldn't survive this one. Slowly brushing her finger tips across the sand, Lydia looked up to the bright blue sky where the sun sat, slowly waiting for death to take her.

She smiled, closed her eyes and took her final breath.

"I'm coming, Allison."


	14. Chapter 14

"S'up, bro."

Stiles' head shot up as he heard the sound of Scott's voice bellow through the station. He smiled at his best friend as Scott walked towards his new appointed desk, Kira following him with a smile.

"You got a desk. Nice." Scott nodded in approval at Stiles' new work station.

"I know." Stiles chuckled, looking across his desk. It was plain and simple, covered in stacks of paper. "It's looking a bit bland. I might have to bring in some stereotypical shit in to place on it. You know; pen holder, pictures of the pack, all that nonsense."

Stiles tried to play it off as a joke, but he was almost certain that one of the pictures of Lydia on his wall would be framed and sitting on his desk in no time. Something to get him through the day.

"So, how's it been?" Kira asked, leaning against his desk while scanning the papers in front of Stiles. "You enjoying it?"

"At the moment, it's just filing everything and filling out paperwork. I'm basically the skivvy who's doing the work that the rest of the firm are too lazy to do." Stiles smirked. "But, however, I _am_ enjoying it. I'm learning each day and it's something to keep me busy."

"That's the spirit, man." Scott grinned. "When do you start getting paid for it?"

Stiles laughed, knowing Scott would be quick to jump to the money side of it. "Dad's working on it. He's got to review my work then send it to the head faculty of this region so they can decide on whether to give me a job or not. Then training starts from there."

"Hey, that's awesome!" Scott grinned. "Won't be long before you can be beside me fighting the monsters off."

"Even with training, Scott, I will most definitely not be able to fight off a psycho were-wolf." Stiles smirked.

Scott chuckled at the comment before the sheriff left his office to greet the two teenagers.

"Hey, kids." Stiles' father smiled before his face fell. "Please don't tell me there's yet another supernatural creature slowly killing off of the population of this town."

Kira laughed politely as Scott stood up straight. "No, no, sheriff. As far as I'm aware, the town is safe, you know, supernatural-wise. We're just here to see how Stiles is doing."

"That's actually why I came out here. Stiles," The sheriff turned to face his son. "I just got off the phone to head faculty. They're really impressed in how you've done this past week."

Stiles' eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn't even tried hard, his mind was too preoccupied to be focusing 100%. "Really?"

"Yeah. They want me to get back to them at the end of next week with some feedback and then they'll take it from there. It's looking extremely hopeful, son."

"Wow!" Stiles stood up to hug his father. "Thanks, dad."

"Don't thank me." The sheriff patted his son on the back. "This is all down to you."

"That's awesome, man." Scott grinned.

"It won't be long till you're fighting crimes alongside your dad." Kira chuckled.

"Actually, Kira, I'm glad you brought that up." The sheriff's voice softened before he turned back to Stiles. "They was hoping to assign you to another station, maybe a precinct out of town."

Stiles' heart flipped. "Oh."

"I mean, that's your call. It's entirely up to you whether you'd want to go for it or not, but they could do with your help in a larger town, a city maybe." The sheriff explained.

Stiles immediately looked up to Scott. He looked just as shocked and torn as Stiles felt. Leaving Scott? His father? Lydia?

Stiles sunk into his chair. Lydia wasn't here any more, but it still felt like he would be leaving her behind.

"Me personally, Stiles...I think it would be a great opportunity for you." The sheriff added. "It would be a great way to use your knowledge, and if they're saying you'll be even more useful in a bigger precinct, then why waste that it here?"

Stiles didn't know what to say. Was he supposed to make this decision now? His best friend in the whole entire world was staring right at him and Stiles didn't have a clue what was going through his mind. What would Scott do? He's got Kira, his mom, but...Stiles and him have never been separated throughout their entire lives. Would Stiles be able to live without Scott? Probably not.

"H-how long do I have to think about it?" Stiles coated his throat and looked at his father with eyes a little too wide.

"Take as much time as you need, son." The sheriff reassured his boy. "They won't start assigning you until the end of your training. You've got plenty of time to make up your mind."

"O-okay, good." Stiles nodded, looking back down at his desk before looking up at Scott for help.

Silence fell between the group before Stiles' father cleared his throat. "Hey, how about you finish early today and go grab some lunch with Scott and Kira."

"Dad, you don't have to-"

"I insist, Stiles. You've done so well here, go and celebrate with your friends." The sheriff smiled.

Stiles smiled up at his father before gathering his things. "Thanks, dad. I'll see you at home?"

"I'll see you at home."

..

The three teenagers had finished off their burgers and were conversing about the memories they'd shared this past year. The majority of said memories included Lydia. After they all fell into a chuckling silence, Scott looked up at his best friend poking at his chips.

"Stiles, I think you should go for it."

Stiles looked up at Scott. "Huh?"

"The job. I think you should do it. It's an opportunity you can't miss." Scott replied.

Stiles exhaled. "Scott, I don't know..."

"I know why you're so 50/50 about this. You're scared." Kira spoke up, receiving two surprised glances from both boys.

"Elaborate." Stiles squinted.

"You don't want to move away because of Scott, and your father. And Lydia." Kira folded her arms across the diner table. "You've never been apart from your father or Scott, and you don't want to leave the town that you grew to learn about the amazing Lydia Martin. I completely understand."

Stiles looked down at his almost empty plate. He didn't give enough credit to Scott for finding such a level headed girl like Kira.

"But, Stiles...the two people you were worried about leaving have both told you to go for it. Being your father, he wants nothing more than to see you succeed at something you enjoy doing. You're good at this stuff. It was always you and Lydia figuring out the pieces of the puzzle. And I know you don't want to leave the town of Lydia's behind but, you'll be taking her with you. She'll be solving the crimes with you. You learnt off of each other and now you can put all that to good use."

Scott looked hard and deep at Kira before turning to Stiles. "She's right. You can't be held back from doing this just because you feel guilty of leaving us all here. That's life, Stiles. We'll always be here when you come back. Even if we're not all in Beacon Hills. We could be spread across the country, heck, the world, but we'll all still come back to each other."

Kira smiled. "We're a pack."

Stiles looked up at the couple before shaking his head with a proud smirk. "We're a family."

The three grinned at each other as Stiles' phone began to ring. Pulling the device from his pocket, he looked up at his friends. "It's my dad. I'll be right back."

Scott and Kira watched Stiles move out of the booth and towards the door before deciding on what smoothie to share between them.

"Hey, dad." Stiles answered as he stepped outside the diner. "It's funny that you called actually, I was gonna tell you that I'd made up-"

"Stiles, you need to come home right now."

The urgency in his father's voice brought the hairs up on Stiles' neck. "What's wrong?"

There was a pause on the sheriff's end, and that drove Stiles' mind to insanity. What had happened? Was he okay?

"They've found Lydia."


	15. Chapter 15

Lydia was confused. Was she dead?

She could hear voices. Different voices trying to talk to her but she couldn't respond. What was going on?

"Lydia."

The voices were muffled, distant. She couldn't move her body. Maybe this was the afterlife.

"Lydia Martin, you're going to be okay."

It didn't even feel like she owned a body. Just her mind, floating in the middle of nowhere and these voices weren't helping her figure out where exactly she was floating to.

"Miss Martin, everything is going to be just fine. We're putting you into a helicopter and taking you to the hospital."

Hospital?

_Hospital._

She was alive.

She had been rescued. After all this time, she was being _rescued._

As soon as she felt her heart rate increase, that's when Lydia realised she did in fact, have a body. Every pain, every ache hit her like a ton of bricks. Her head, oh god, her _head_. It felt like her brain was oozing out. Like her skull had shattered into pieces.

She sensed she was being lifted onto something, and that brought out of the slicing pain in her right arm. Broken. She could tell. What else?

"Her pupils have dilated. She's coming to."

That's when the rays of sun blinded her eyesight. She could now see, and it hurt. Her eye sockets were burning. She ran her tongue across her lips and wished she didn't. Flakes of dead skin fell straight off and into her mouth. She didn't even want to know what she looked like.

"I..." Lydia croaked so quietly and pathetically she barely heard herself. The sun disappeared, a quick flash of helicopter rotors and then she could see much more clearly.

Three doctors were hovering over her, two males and a female but she was certain there was more inside the helicopter.

"It's okay, don't speak. Just concentrate on taking even breaths." The female doctor spoke clearly above the sound of the helicopter taking off. "Is this how you found her?"

"We were flying over the West of the island and we saw her fall down the cliff. We dropped immediately but she was dead on the scene. If this isn't a miracle then I don't know what is."

Lydia's pound heart stopped. She had died. She had died and they brought her back to life. Lydia had died and now she was alive.

Her heart was racing once again, gaining the attention of one of the male doctors. "Lydia, I'm going to ask you to count to ten, all right? I'll count to ten with you."

No. Lydia didn't want to. She knew this speech. They wanted to sedate her and she didn't want to be out cold again. She shook her head as much as she could.

"No...no..."

"All right, all right." He soothed. "I need you to keep your heart rate at a regular pace, Lydia, or I will have to put you under."

She nodded, closing her eyes to control her breathing.

They were flying now, Lydia was sure of it. Her stomach turned as they flew higher and higher. She just wanted to be at home. She didn't like feeling like this.

"Lydia, my name is Dr. Hartley. We have authority heading to your family's homes to take them to the airport. We're transferring you to the closest hospital, okay?" The female doctor explained.

Lydia felt her head throb as she looked up to the roof of the helicopter. She swallowed, wanting to ask the question she'd been wanting an answer to since she arrived on the island.

"Where am I?"

Dr. Hartley smiled down at the red-head sympathetically. "Kiribati island."

Lydia searched her brain. Kiribati island, just over the borderline between the North and South Atlantic. A little lonely island with no population, except for herself these past three and a half weeks.

Lydia felt her eye sockets ache as fresh tears began to produce.

"We're taking you to Hawaii Community Hospital, about an hour's journey. I would really prefer it if you got some rest." Dr. Hartley peered down at Lydia.

Lydia blinked up at the doctor with watery eyes. "My family-"

"They'll be there when you wake up, okay? Everything's going to be just fine. You're going home soon." Dr Hartley smiled and Lydia's vision began to blur as the aesthetic began to take affect.

Lydia took in a shaky breath before letting her eyes close.


End file.
